With the Belgian police / Caravane
For more than 4 years, from 2008 to 2011, I followed Belgian policemen in their cars, during their missions, everywhere in Nivelles. I discovered the violence of life on the faces of citizens, the loneliness and the stories of those who try to speak but can’t, who try to get out of the night, but can’t.
What reality can be seen from the back seat of a police car, when you are neither a suspect nor a policeman yourself? Men and women who work, day and night, for the safety of their fellow citizens in sometimes sordid conditions. The unfamiliarity in the heart of the routine. Emotions in a job that seems lacking of it.
Since June 2010, Belgium has no government, which is obviously detrimental for public services like the police force. According to some sources, up to 10% of the population suffers from alcoholism, and 65% of the young people take drugs.
But the Belgian police is undeniably effective, despite a drastic lack of resources. The night shift of Brussels’ West zone is only staffed with 8 teams –or 16 policemen for 182,000 residents. When in need of reinforcements, the only solution is to call in police officers from neighboring zones, who then leave their own perimeter uncovered.
Although the police is conscious of the difficulties it faces, its members continue to watch over sleepy Belgian towns with the hope that the State will support them.
How will you sleep when this hope fades away?
Photographs and text : Sébastien Van Malleghem
