Crime in Belgium

{{Further|List of countries by intentional homicide rate}}

In 2012, Belgium had a murder rate of 1.8 per 100,000 population. There were a total of 182 murders in Belgium in 2012.[https://www.unodc.org/gsh/en/index.html Global Study on Homicide]. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2013.

Muggings, purse snatchings, and pocket picking occur frequently, particularly in major cities. Thieves often loiter in transportation hubs like the Metro (subway) and train stations to take advantage of disoriented or distracted travelers.{{cite web|title=Belgium 2013 Crime and Safety Report|url=https://www.osac.gov/pages/ContentReportDetails.aspx?cid=13882|website=OSAC|access-date=20 October 2014}}

{{Main|Corruption in Belgium}}

Public trust in the civil service and the judiciary is low, and perception of corruption is high in Belgium.{{cite web|title=Global Corruption Barometer 2013- Belgium|url=http://www.transparency.org/gcb2013/country/?country=belgium|work=Transparency International|access-date=17 November 2013}}

A study based on data from 1999 concluded that minors of non-European nationality were overrepresented in crime statistics.{{cite book |first=Marion & Arjen |last=VAN SAN & LEERKES |title= Criminaliteit en criminalisering, allochtone jongeren in België|year=2001 |publisher= Amsterdam University Press |isbn= 905-3565256 |pages=10–12 }} While 4.4% of the Belgian population has a non-European nationality, 19% of all prosecuted cases, and 24% of cases presented in youth court involved non-European nationals.{{Citation needed|date=March 2025}}

{{main|Terrorist activity in Belgium}}

Besides general safety issues in some boroughs, Brussels reportedly serves as a hub for terrorists, as reported by various sources such as Interpol, and local newspapers such as Het Nieuwsblad. In the same boroughs that pose safety problems (e.g. Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, Schaerbeek, ...) there is radicalisation.{{Citation needed|date=June 2008}} This remains however very limited in scale, the occurrence of Belgian nationals directly linked to international terrorism hovering around 0.1-1 per million inhabitants for the last decade.{{Citation needed|date=January 2012}}

The two Tunisian nationals who assassinated Commander Massoud in Afghanistan had fake Belgian passports, and the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group (GICM) has links in Belgium too - there were arrests in Brussels and Antwerp of individuals involved in the Madrid bombing.{{cite news|title=Italy holds 'key Madrid plotter'|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3785995.stm|access-date=9 May 2013|newspaper=BBC|date=8 June 2004}} As a result, stringent measures were taken against passport and other official documents forging.{{Citation needed|date=March 2025}}

Belgium has also seen hate crimes against visible minorities recently, including the Hans Van Themsche case, the Patrick Mombaerts case or other acts of racist violence.{{Citation needed|date=June 2008}}

Much reported in newspapers were mayor Philippe Moureaux of Molenbeek's failed attempts at revitalizing the Brussels municipality. In June 2011, the multinational company BBDO, citing over 150 attacks on their staff by locals, posted an open letter to Moureaux, announcing its withdrawal from the municipality.{{cite web|url=http://www.lacapitale.be/regions/bruxelles/2011-06-17/insecurite-a-molenbeek-la-lettre-de-bbdo-a-moureaux-881494.shtml|title=Insécurité à Molenbeek|date=17 June 2011|language=fr|trans-title=Insecurity in Molenbeek|work=La Capitale|access-date=18 November 2015}} As a result, serious questions were raised about governance, security and the administration of Moureaux.{{cite web|url=http://www.standaard.be/artikel/detail.aspx?artikelid=DMF20110617_133|title=BBDO zwaar ontgoocheld in Moureaux|date=17 June 2011|language=nl|trans-title=BBDO greatly disappointed by Moureaux|work=De Standaard|access-date=18 November 2015}} Following a general decrease in crime, the company finally decided to remain in Molenbeek.{{cite web|title=Reclamebureau BBDO: 'Geen incidenten meer'|url=https://www.bruzz.be/samenleving/reclamebureau-bbdo-geen-incidenten-meer-2011-12-14|access-date=2021-09-27|website=bruzz.be|language=nl}}

This played in a wider context of left-right wing political discord lining up with Belgium's Flemish-Walloons language conflict. The case became emblematic of perceived Walloon socialist plotting to let neighbourhoods degrade (by inviting immigrants and offering them social security) to create socialist-voting poor constituents. The Walloon side thought it showed how Flemish media, mostly controlled by openly nationalist families, push a right-wing and xenophobic agenda.{{Citation needed|date=August 2016}}

{{No sources|section|date=September 2024}}

According to Urban Audit, in 2001, Brussels had the fourth highest number of recorded crimes of European capitals (behind Stockholm, Amsterdam, and Berlin, and virtually on a par with Helsinki). According to the same source, Brussels had a rate of 10 murders or violent deaths per 100,000 citizens.{{Citation needed|date=March 2025}}

Usually, serious safety issues in Brussels are mostly limited to residential boroughs with a low income population.{{Citation needed|date=June 2008}}

Belgium's second largest city, Antwerp, saw crime rates about 20% below those of Brussels.{{Citation needed|date=September 2019}} Liège and Charleroi, industrial cities with high unemployment rates, saw more elevated crime rates than the less industrialized cities of Ghent and Bruges.{{Citation needed|date=September 2019}} The rural areas are generally safe.{{Citation needed|date=March 2025}}

• Joe Van Holsbeeck
• Murder of Karel van Noppen

{{reflist}}

• [https://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1044.html Belgium USA Department of State.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131221014238/http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1044.html |date=2013-12-21 }}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20060430053427/http://www.urbanaudit.org/rank.aspx Urban Audit: How cities rank]
• {{in lang|nl}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20070930195217/http://www.hln.be/hlns/cache/det/art_226650.html Abnormaal veel minderjarige allochtonen in criminaliteitscijfers], Het Laatste Nieuws.
• BBC News [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4488642.stm Belgian 'suicide bomber' is named.]
• [http://www.polfed-fedpol.be/org/org_en.php Belgian Federal Police ] (See {{in lang|nl|fr}} versions for the most detailed statistics).

{{commons category}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20090206144738/http://urbanaudit.org/ urbanaudit.org]
• [https://www.osac.gov/pages/ContentReportDetails.aspx?cid=13882 OSAC: Belgium 2013 Crime & Safety Report]

{{Belgium topics}}

{{Crime in Europe}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crime In Belgium}}