| Federal Police Federale Politie (Dutch) Police Fédérale (French) Föderale Polizei (German) |
|
| Bilingual logo of the Belgian Police | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 2001 |
| Preceding agencies |
|
| Employees | 12,500 |
| Legal personality | Governmental: Government agency |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| Federal agency (Operations jurisdiction) |
Belgium |
| Legal jurisdiction | As per operations jurisdiction. |
| General nature | |
| Operational structure | |
| Agency executive | Fernand Koekelberg, General Commissioner |
| Website | |
| http://www.polfed-fedpol.be/ | |
| Footnotes | |
| Reference for above data.[1] | |
The Federal Police (Dutch: Federale Politie; French: Police Fédérale) carry out specialized police and investigation missions that cover more than one region in Belgium. The federal police have approximately 12,500 personnel that provide support units for the local police and the federal police itself.[2]
The Commissioner General is in charge of three operational divisions: the Administrative Police, the Criminal Investigation Department and Operational Support Unit. His office also maintains control over the CGSU special units (SWAT and covert surveillance teams) and the national criminfo database. It is responsible for contacts with the local police, integrated police operations, coordination and external communication. The International Police Cooperation Division (CGI) is Belgium’s national central bureau for the European Police Office (Europol), Schengen Information System and International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol).
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The administrative police (Dutch: Bestuurlijke politie; French: Police administrative; German: Verwaltungspolizei) has five operational missions which are protection, general reserve, transport, canine support and air support.[3]
The Federal Criminal Investigation Department (Dutch: Gerechtelijke politie; French: Police judiciaire; German: Gerichtspolizei) is a large organisation that operates at both the central and local levels from its headquarters in Brussels.[4]
The FGP/PJF's seven central bureaus coordinate serious crime investigations at the national and international level:
Eighty-five percent of the PJF/FGP’s personnel is assigned to 27 decentralised investigation bureaux.[4] Manpower at each district varies: small bureaux can have as few as 40 personnel whereas the large ones can exceed 200. The organisation and management of these units are entrusted to the "chief of investigations (gerechtelijk directeur / directeur judiciaire). Each decentralised bureau is made up of several sections directed towards the region’s main criminal phenomena and executes specific support or criminal investigation missions. Although organisation differs from one district to another, sections dealing with drugs, people smuggling, financial and organized crime, vehicle theft rings are the most common. In addition, the PJF/FGP provides support services for the federal and local police, such as computer crime units, technical and forensic support, criminal information, operational criminal analysis and coordination with the administrative police.
Each investigative district has a criminal information centre (Dutch: Arrondissementeel informatiekruispunt; French: Carrefour d’information d’arrondissement; German: Informationsknotenpunkt des Bezirks) manned by federal and local police officers to facilitate the coordination of investigations. Each centre processes the criminal data from the local and federal police forces to analyze recent cases and events, thus identifying trends and issuing any necessary warnings.[5] It also correlates the connections between cases, people, vehicles, etc. and sorts information for operational and strategic purposes. Each AIK/CIA contributes to the cross-border exchange of police data and supports the managers of the police zones with data processing capabilities. Each chief of investigations has overall responsibility for an AIK/CIA but a department chief ensures the daily management of the centre.
The Support and Administration Department (Dutch: Algemene directie van de ondersteuning en het beheer; French: Direction Générale de l'appui et de la gestion; German: Generaldirektion der Unterstützung und der Verwaltung) performs the administrative, resource management, logistics and recruitment support for all federal police units. The department also provides the local and federal police with equipment, support and training.[6]
The Telematics Department is developing the ASTRID digital radio network that the police and all emergency and security services (fire departments, customs, etc.) will use in due course. The Training Department (DSE) is responsible for all the training programs for the complete Belgian police. It analyses training needs and drafts a global training plan for the integrated police. As a think-thank, the training department provides advice regarding the training of the involved agencies. Specific educational tools are regularly developed by the department, either upon request or at its own initiative. The DSE ensures the proper application of the various training programs by means of managerial contracts with police academies and by approving training programs. Thus it ensures the conformity of training quality and guarantees financial equity between police academies. It represents Belgium on the governing board of the European Police College (CEPOL) and pilots cross-border police training projects with France, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
Belgium’s police academies provide all the basic, specialised, revision and advanced courses for all the members of the integrated police, whether from the federal or local police. There are two types of school: ministry schools and approved police academies. The three ministry schools in Brussels fall directly under the DSE. The Interior Ministry owns the federal police and national school for senior officers, and the Justice Ministry runs the national investigation school.
Every province in the country except Walloon Brabant has a police training institution. These academies are either non-profit organisations or provincial or interregional institutions. There are a total of ten (in Bruges, Ghent, Antwerp, Genk, Asse, Liege, Arlon, Namur, Jurbise and one for the Brussels region which is bilingual). A managerial contract between the Interior Minister and the school’s management is concluded annually. Even though these schools are not directly part of the police structure, they play an essential role in police training.
Until September, 2011, nine out of ten Belgian Federal Police officers were equipped with the 9x19mm Parabellum Browning GP 35 semi-automatic pistol. Other semi-automatic pistols used by the Federal Police included Glock models.
On March, 2011, it was revealed that both the Browning GP 35 and the Glock models would be replaced by the 9x19mm Parabellum Smith & Wesson M&P semi-automatic pistol due to safety concerns, especially when comparing the recently designed M&P with the much more older GP 35. The American-designed pistol was also found to adapt better to the specifications than the other five competitors, and its cost wouldn't be significantly higher than that of the GP 35.
The replacement was decided in December 2010, and 3,000 M&Ps out of a total of 8,000 were delivered in September, 2011. The M&Ps will be used to equip all of the Belgian Federal Police officers.[7]