Crime in Belgium

Belgium is considered a mostly safe country compared to its neighbouring countries. Brussels had the fourth highest number of recorded crimes of European capitals (behind Stockholm, Amsterdam, and Berlin). Brussels had a rate of 10 murders or violent deaths per 100,000 citizens. Belgium's second largest city, Antwerp, has crime rates about 20% below those of Brussels. Liège and Charleroi, industrial cities with high unemployment rates, saw higher crime rates than the less industrialized cities of Ghent and Bruges. The rural areas are generally very safe.

History

Marc Dutroux did many serious crimes and is likely Belgium's worst criminal. He is in prison.

In November 2005, Brussels was very minorly affected by the spread of the French riots. There has been a steep increase in violent armed robberies carried out by minors. Cybercrime is also growing.

In 2011, a man killed six people, then himself, in Liege.

Gangs in Belgium

In the 1990s and early 2000s, attacks were made on vans used to move. They often killed the security agents in charge. The country had several large-scale crime scandals, such as those of the Brabant Wallon killers, the Scarface gang and the Belgian Mafia. More recently, some scandals have been about corruption and misuse of public resources. In addition, petty crimes such as street thefts, purse snatchings, and pickpocketing are in the main city centers. There are not very many of these crimes. Car theft used to happen often. There have been less in the last decade.

Belgian Mafia

The known groups in the mafia in Belgium are:

• Belgian mafia
• Nijvel gang
• Haemers gang
• Bonnot Gang
• Scarface gang