Security and justice

A stronger fight against drug trafficking

Drug trafficking, along with the violence and score-settling that come with it, is a scourge for our cities. The MR wants to respond with a greater police presence in neighbourhoods blighted by dealing, more anti-drug teams on the ground and the widespread use of immediate fines for possession in the street. For dealers, being sent straight to court must become the norm.

This firmness must also apply to hard drug users: heavier financial penalties and imprisonment for repeat offenders, with only one way out: committing to a medical programme. Our line remains one of responsibility combined with support and care, which rules out drug consumption rooms: they organise the problem rather than solve it.

Vandal pays: tackling urban crime

In a society where rights come with duties, social hardship can never excuse vandalism: an offence cannot go unanswered.

That is why we propose applying the “vandal pays” principle: those who commit urban crime should bear the cost of repairing the damage they cause to property and people, for punishment that is fair and effective and for real compensation for victims and the state.

Respect for the police

Police officers carry out essential duties and face difficult situations every day. We must do everything possible to protect them from the physical and verbal violence they can suffer in the course of their work.

Sentences that are actually served

There is a major gap between the sentence handed down and the sentence served: people convicted of serious crimes are granted temporary release after just one year, without the public prosecutor being involved in the decision. This model blurs the meaning of the judgment and undermines the credibility of our criminal justice system.

We propose tightening the conditions for parole and temporary release, involving the public prosecutor more closely in these decisions, and ensuring that sentences handed down are actually served.

Given prison overcrowding, every convicted prisoner who is not Belgian must also be transferred to a prison in their country of nationality: transfers must become systematic.

Tougher sentences for serious crime

To stop organised crime choosing our country, we must be more of a deterrent: heavier sentences for members of criminal organisations, and the power for judges to impose a ban from the territory, from a minimum of five years up to a permanent ban, where the convicted person is neither a Belgian national nor entitled to stay.

A justice system with the means to judge

We absolutely must fill the vacancies for judges and prosecutors and make these roles more attractive in order to draw the best talent, so that the judicial backlog can be cleared.

Finally, we must modernise our courthouses and rationalise an oversized judicial estate (five times more buildings than in the Netherlands) so that resources go to welcoming court users, to security and to the efficiency of the courts.