Five N-VA measures for a safe Flemish coast

After the riots last weekend on the coast, the N-VA party is putting forward five concrete measures in the Chamber that focus on firm police action and an on-the-spot judicial policy. “Our Flemish coast should remain safe and pleasant. We will tackle those who do not respect that in a concrete and direct way.”

In response to the recent riots in a number of coastal municipalities, the N-VA requested the convening of the Committee on the Interior. The chairman of the Committee expressed his support for this request and passed it on to the President of the Chamber, who will have to decide on it during the recess.

In the meantime, the N-VA parliamentary group looked into a package of concrete measures. Expressing disapproval or proposing sham measures does not improve the situation.

Firm police action and an on-the-spot judicial policy

The core element remains enforcement through firm police action and a follow-up on-the-spot judicial policy. If that does not follow the deployment of the police forces, an unacceptable atmosphere of impunity will arise.

The N-VA parliamentary group is therefore calling for the following concrete measures:

• Supra-municipal coordination for riots as support for local authorities to enable direct assistance and avoid a waterbed effect
• Immediate provision of active federal police capacity in the coastal zone. It should be possible to deploy two platoons immediately
• Consistent application of a ban on rioters in the event of public disturbance, with supra-municipal coordination here, too, to counteract problems shifting. If apprehended, rioters will immediately be arrested and fined. This is also still possible for the rioters of recent days
• Urgent consultation with the public prosecutors to apply summary justice and to proceed to concrete punishment
• The introduction of a notification system and the NMBS monitoring the number of train users boarding the train on the busiest days, using coastal capacity as a criterion. Day tourism should be spared as much as possible, within the limits of the local capacity.

These measures can be taken quickly and help local authorities to tackle the problem. The N-VA will submit these proposals to the Committee on the Interior, among others.