200 police officers present during major action in Brussels South after persistent complaints: 30 people arrested | Interior

Homeless people and sans-papiers on Victor Hortaplein were checked today. Those who did not want to leave – and there were dozens of them – were arrested and led away in handcuffs. A gang of thieves also ran into the lamp, according to Sarah Frederickx, spokeswoman for the South police zone. “They clearly had not read the newspaper, because we have made no secret of this assignment. The aim is to show that we will tackle the situation around the South Station in a coordinated manner and hope that this will have a dissuasive effect. We are going to take a kind of picture of the situation today with this action and then we will see in the following days and weeks what is needed to restore order here in a sustainable way.” A total of thirty people have been arrested.

Together with the police, the Brussels cleaning services were also on site en masse. “Now it smells like citrus here because of the cleaning products. That was often different in recent times.”

Yesterday Prime Minister Alexander De Croo (Open Vld) and Minister Verlinden announced that they will take steps to increase security in the station. Stories about drug use and nuisance in the area have been doing the rounds for quite some time. In the last quarter of last year, 2,200 criminal offenses were registered at Brussels South Station, according to figures. There is an unsafe feeling among travelers and local residents, who have already sounded the alarm.

“In order to solve the problem in Brussels-South, we need targeted and coordinated actions. Cooperation is needed between the federal and local police, but also with the railway police,” said Verlinden on Radio 1 this morning. Minister Verlinden will visit South Station on Saturday around 2.45 p.m. to encourage the police officers.

“Due to an overlap of powers or holes in the net, the solution is not forthcoming at all. I assume that people with a responsibility also try to contribute to the solution. But Brussels has a very complex structure with a fragmentation of powers. There are many partners,” it says.

Minister Verlinden clarifies that money has already been given for police recruitment. “But just like with other professional groups, that takes time. If we look at the figures from the railway police, all vacancies are almost filled,” says Verlinden.