We are abolishing the police councils, whose strategic added value has become increasingly limited, from 1st July. No more attendance fees; this abolition of a body that has become superfluous will save €2 million. Democratic oversight will henceforth take place at the level of the municipal councils.
From 1 July 2026, police councils will be abolished. This reform aims to simplify the governance of police zones, clarify political responsibilities and restore democratic oversight to the municipal councils, without weakening transparency or local anchoring. It will also generate an estimated saving of around €2 million, mainly linked to attendance fees.
Why abolish the police councils?
The integrated police force has existed for 25 years. After a quarter of a century in operation, it is necessary to adapt the governance of police zones to today's realities.
Police councils were designed as representative and oversight bodies in multi-municipal zones. In practice, however, their role has become limited. They approve certain acts, particularly budgetary ones, and issue opinions, but their strategic added value appears limited.
This finding is not based solely on a political assessment. It is documented by the 2018 UGent study on the scaling-up of Flemish police zones. This study shows that the police council is often seen by local stakeholders as a body with limited strategic added value, while the police board is seen as the real place of decision-making and steering.
The reform therefore starts from a simple observation: when a structure is poorly understood, little known and of limited strategic value, it is better to clarify responsibilities than to maintain an additional institutional level.
What actually changes
From 1 July 2026, the police councils will be abolished. The powers currently exercised by the police councils will be transferred to the police boards. The latter will therefore be clearly identified as the decision-making political bodies of the police zones.
This clarification will help avoid institutional duplication and overlapping powers. It will also make it possible to better distinguish the roles: the police board decides, the police zone implements, and the municipal councils exercise democratic oversight of the decisions taken.
In large multi-municipal zones, a restricted bureau of the police board may be set up. This bureau will have no decision-making power of its own. Its sole role will be to prepare meetings, follow up on files and improve the efficiency of collective work.
No loss of democratic oversight
Several mechanisms will guarantee transparency and information for municipal councils:
- Decisions of the police board must be forwarded to municipal councils, except for elements relating to privacy protection;
- Municipal councillors will have the right to written and oral questioning. Responses will be provided through the mayor, who will ensure the link between the police board and the municipal council;
- The chief of corps, or their representative, will present an annual written report to municipal councils. This report will include detailed data per municipality, particularly on staffing levels, interventions, patrols, operational activity and response times;
- The mayor's role remains central in the budget cycle. They will ensure the link with the municipal council for the approval of the budget, budget amendments and accounts. The municipal council will therefore not be sidelined. On the contrary, it will be better informed and better equipped to exercise its oversight role over decisions on local security.
A good-governance reform
This reform is part of a good-governance approach. It aims to abolish a structure that has become largely formal, without weakening political oversight. It makes the functioning of police zones clearer, better identifies responsibilities and restores democratic debate to the municipal councils.
It also meets a cost-rationalisation objective. The abolition of the police councils represents an estimated saving of around €2 million, mainly linked to attendance fees.
In a tight budgetary context for local authorities, it is consistent to abolish an institutional level whose added value has become limited, while strengthening the mechanisms of transparency, information and accountability at municipal level.