Governor: “West Flanders has four large police zones”

He said yesterday that the federal government will start work on a new police reform after the summer. Our province now has 19 police zones, many of which are already working together with other zones to be able to perform all tasks. The biggest fear is that in the event of a merger, the local individuality of a smaller zone will disappear.

Peter Billiouw heads PZ Spoorkin, which is active in Alveringem, Lo-Reninge and Veurne. Its corps is the smallest in West Flanders, and has only about fifty police officers and 10 civilian staff members. “For our zone, the smallest in West Flanders, it is not so easy to arrange all basic functionalities. That is why we focus on functional versatility. This means that our employees are deployed for various purposes. We also work together with Grensleie and Arro Ypres. That is a great added value for tackling peak moments together.”

Our province currently has 19 police zones. A 2018 study by Ghent University already suggested a reduction to 7 more police zones. Another proposal is to make them coincide with the five West Flemish regions outlined by the Flemish government last year. Governor Carl Decaluwé: “For me, the ideal scenario is: four fire zones, four police zones, four security zones. But I don’t believe that people will solve everything by merging between here and two years. One will have to say: so many people and so many police officers. If it is not imposed from above, it will not happen.”

Peter Billiouw would like a larger zone, as long as the individuality and local services are not jeopardized.