Belgian police oversight committee reiterates same recommendations after 35 years

Thirty-five years after its creation, Belgium's permanent committee for the oversight of police services, known as Comité P, finds itself reiterating the same eight recommendations year after year. Kathleen Stinckens, the committee's president, observes that this persistent repetition signals a deeper problem with the application of existing rules, rather than a deficiency in the rules themselves.

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eight recommendations formulated over the course of investigations keep coming back, a sign that the difficulties are more about the application of rules than their absence.

Over its 35-year history, Comité P has investigated various issues, including police violence, the treatment of vulnerable individuals, police-youth relations, and matters of integrity, recruitment, and training. Stinckens highlighted that eight specific recommendations consistently appear in their reports: communication, attitude and respect, proportionality, quality of execution, training and supervision, organization and coordination, trust, and accessibility of services. The committee advocates for a systematic "child reflex" during police interventions.

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the systematic application of a "child reflex" during police interventions.

Looking ahead, Stinckens anticipates increasingly complex police interventions. While acknowledging the potential of artificial intelligence to aid analysis and enhance services, she firmly stated that "technology should never be entrusted with responsibility." Human accountability, she emphasized, remains paramount. The committee also stresses the critical need for reliable data to identify structural problems and formulate effective recommendations, asserting, "What is not measured cannot be understood, and what is not understood cannot be improved."

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police interventions will become more complex in the future.