The police general inspection service has sounded the alarm on the lack of integrity checks for police officers, which leaves the door wide open for corruption, De Standaard reported on Friday.
However, “individual pressure on the police is increasing, as demonstrated by international studies”, said Thierry Gillis, head of the service.
Criminals handle increasingly large sums of money, and certain policemen cannot resist that appeal, Gillis and his deputy Johan De Volder noted in a communique, adding that police officers’ integrity is scarcely or never checked.
Would-be policemen and policewomen only undergo such checks during the recruiting process whereas in neighbouring countries, that type of screening goes much further, according to a study posted on the General Inspection site.
This situation has given rise to problems during a career spanning over 45 years whereas there was “practically no preventive identity check,” it said.
Oscar Schneider
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