Police watchdog slams handling of anti-terrorist data

Nobody within the police forces has an overview of the data in the possession of the different services in terms of terrorism and extremism, according to the findings of a report by the P Committee, published in Het Laatste Nieuws and De Morgen. In an 11-page report, the police watchdog openly criticises the way data is exchanged within the police on matters of terrorism, radicalism and extremism. According to the report, even the federal police’s central anti-terrorism service does not have ‘an overview of the data collected [by various services] regarding radicalised youth or organisations susceptible of carrying out terrorist acts." The P Committee is also perplexed by the fact that some secret information can only be exchanged between units of the federal judicial police and the central anti-terrorism services in printed form.