As mayoral candidate for the City of Brussels, David Weytsman is making security his absolute priority ahead of the upcoming local elections on 13 October. As lead candidate for MR+ (MR, Open VLD, Voor U, independents), he denounces the “total failure” of Philippe Close (PS) and the left on security and wants to restore the capital's image.
You are making security your top priority. Is the situation in the City of Brussels really that catastrophic?
For years, Mayor Philippe Close has insisted that everything is under control, but the reality is that nothing is under control. There has never been so much insecurity in the streets. Shopkeepers are at breaking point and many Brussels residents are talking about leaving the city. Today, at 43 years old, 1.95m tall, 125 kilos, when I'm with my daughter in certain places, I don't feel comfortable. I don't feel comfortable in my metro station or in certain playgrounds. That is unacceptable. Two out of three Brussels residents say they feel less safe than a few years ago. Nine out of ten women have already experienced sexual harassment or harassment in public spaces. This is an unacceptable situation, but it is not inevitable. We have concrete solutions to change the city.
Change is, in fact, your campaign slogan (“With the MR, everything changes”). Do you really believe that everything can change?
Yes, and the first thing that needs to change is mindsets. Yes, the City of Brussels can once again become a great, clean and safe capital. And clearly, on certain issues, with the MR everything changes. Security changes everything. Brussels residents may need to try an alternative to the left, because I'm faced with one person who is resigned to fatalism, telling us everything is under control, and another who tells me there is no security problem (Rudi Vervoort).
What are your solutions for tackling insecurity?
The first is that we absolutely need neighbourhood policing that stays as close as possible to residents. More police on the streets, visible, present, on foot, on bikes. The second is that we need to fill the force to its full strength of 2,600 officers. We would go from 2,150 to 2,600 officers, which is a big increase. Some police zones manage to fill their ranks properly. We need to make this a priority. In the most sensitive neighbourhoods, we need mobile police stations, meaning a permanent police presence. We need to restore neighbourhood policing with small local outposts or small police stations in the neighbourhoods. The police officers themselves are asking for this.
What would be your first measure if you are elected mayor of the City of Brussels?
I would do everything possible to ensure that police officers have maximum time to be out on the ground, on foot in the streets and physically present. This is a priority we will need to work on. Police officers didn't join the force to fill out paperwork. They themselves want to be out on the ground carrying out interventions, sometimes providing support and individual assistance. To achieve this, we will need to increase funding for the Brussels-Capital police zone. It has not increased enough in recent years relative to inflation and population growth. And that is a political choice made by the left.
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