Police shortage due to recruitment policies, says union

The shortage of officers in local police forces in Belgium is the result of recruitment policies rather than any effect of the terrorist threat, according to the public service union SNPS. Too few recruits are trained to the level required, and account is not taken of requirements expected in the future, union chair Carlo Medo said.

According to Medo, local police forces have been faced with a shortage of personnel since long before the terrorist attacks of last March, simply because the forces had not been able to attract sufficient new recruits. Now the majority of new recruits are being swallowed up by anti-terrorism duties, he said.

“The shortage is indeed dramatic, both on the federal and the local levels,” Medo said. “It’s mainly caused by the embargo on recruitment of the last few years. Capacity in police schools is inadequate, and the loss of personnel through, for example, retirement was not sufficiently anticipated.”

Now, he explained, new recruits attracted to the job after last year’s events are being deployed to anti-terror duties because of a €400 million federal budget that can only be spent on those duties. Local forces will now have to wait until the autumn before new graduates from police schools will be available for them to put to work.

Photo courtesy Jobpunt Vlaanderen