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54 thefts a day on public transport

11:39 05/01/2015

There were an estimated 20,000 thefts on public transport in Belgium in 2013, or 54 thefts a day, according to figures released by the federal police. The figure is down 14% on similar statistics for 2012. Nearly 9,000 thefts occurred in train and metro stations, 7,199 on trains and metros, 2,226 on buses and 1,465 in bus and tram stops.

Some 336 cases of sexual violence were also reported in 2013 (316 in 2012). The railway police counted 266 cases of illegal possession of weapons (220 in 2012), 2,307 cases of illegal immigration (2,158 in 2012) and 1,289 cases of possession of drugs (863 in 2012).

Written by Deborah Forsyth

Comments

Anonymous

Very sad that the police are never around when required.

Jan 5, 2015 14:47
salsadancer

I have had countless robberies -- purse, car, home, apartment -- the police were always inept and unprofessional. They have asked to "borrow some paper and a pen" (because they had no formal paper on which to write a report), they told me "on joue le secretaire" meaning they write down what I say and that's that, and more. The police in Belgium are not well trained, are poorly paid, and are not respected by the general public. Unless someone is murdered, raped, or a very important person, the general citizen has no hopes of ever having any positive result. It is a sad situation.

Jan 5, 2015 22:08