Houtsche police volunteers do pioneering work

Johan Verplancké is one of the 15 volunteers who are active at the Het Houtsche police zone. Today he was out giving people advice on how to prevent a burglary. He has been doing this volunteer work for 8 years. The volunteers also advise companies and contractors on how to better protect their property and assets against theft. They followed an intensive training for this.

Fewer burglaries

The Houtsche is a zone where traditionally many burglars are on the road, because Beernem, Oostkamp and Zedelgem are close to the highway. Since the deployment of the volunteers, the numbers are going in the right direction. Het Houtsche also deploys the volunteers for road safety campaigns. They mark bicycles and, for example, also check bicycle lighting for school children. By deploying volunteers, the officers have more time free for other work.

“Example other police zones”

Many other police zones come to Het Houtsche to see how they deploy volunteers there. Minister Verlinden hopes that other police forces will follow suit. It wants to involve citizens more closely in the functioning of the police. And volunteering is a good example of that, she says.