The police are investigating what exactly was going on with the C2000 communication system, after complaints about its functioning during a manhunt for three robbers in Rijsbergen. This was announced by a spokesperson for the National Police’s corps leadership on Friday in response to reports from the ACP police union.
The union announced on Thursday evening that it had contacted the police force management because of the malfunctioning of the C2000 communication system during the manhunt.
Due to the loss of connections, the agents would not have been able to communicate properly with each other. “If you work with more than seventy people from different services, including Belgian colleagues, such as on Thursday evening in Rijsbergen, you must have reliable communication. Especially because we took into account that the robbers were potentially dangerous with firearms,” said ACP chairman Wim Groeneweg.
Coverage issues
The spokesman for the corps leadership announced on Friday that it is known that there were coverage problems in the area, partly because it is located in the border area. However, measures have been taken, including a so-called permanent base, which should make the problems a thing of the past, the spokesperson said.
What happened Thursday night is being investigated. “We look at whether it was a coverage problem, or, for example, a technical malfunction or an organizational error such as too many talk groups on a certain frequency. The system cannot handle that either.”
During the police action, three suspects of a robbery at a gun shop in Nieuwmoer, Belgium, were arrested. After the robbery, the suspects fled to Rijsbergen in a car and were arrested there.
READ ALSO:
Police union angry about failing communication system in manhunt
Robbers arrested after manhunt are teenagers (16 and 19)