Organisation

Each of the 27 judicial districts of Belgium counts one decentralised directorate of the Federal Judicial Police. Those directorates are managed by Judicial Directors.

If the size and organisation of the directorates may vary, one permanent feature is the specialisation of the staff in priority criminal phenomena such as drug trafficking, traffi cking and trade in human beings, serious economic and financial crime, itinerant criminals, terrorism, etc.

The main task of the decentralised directorates consists therefore in carrying out preliminary investigations under the authority of the Public Prosecutor’s office or criminal investigations conducted by an examining magistrate.

Investigations may be either reactive or proactive. In the latest case, the available information on a group of criminals is the basis of the investigation, which is carried out to prove their criminal activities. In reactive investigations, the starting point is the offence and the culpability or innocence of the suspect has to be proved.

Moreover, specialised support is provided for partners within or without the police organisation, mainly in the fi elds of ICT crime, forensic science, police informers, criminal analyses and special investigation methods and techniques.

Each directorate carries out projects that give concrete expression to integral (prevention, tracking down on crime, follow-up, etc.) and integrated (between all partners and authorities) approaches to priority phenomena. Those projects make visible the commitment and solidarity of each partner on the field.

Bearing in mind that the police’s approach is integral and integrated, the synergy between the Judicial Director and the Administrative Coordinating Director (DirCo), who coordinates administrative police missions at district level, has proved to be a key element to ensure the smooth running of operations at the judicial district level.

Activities

A Decentralised Judicial Directorate mainly performs criminal police missions at judicial level in the framework of investigations whose scope goes beyond the judicial district or the borders of our country or in the framework of complex investigations which require specialised knowledge.

A Decentralised Judicial Directorate also carries out a certain number of specialised administrative police missions, such as the follow-up of risk groups. An order from the Minister of Justice provides for the distribution of tasks between the Federal and the Local Police taking into account the legal missions and activities entrusted to these two police services.

The support to the Local Police

Decentralised Judicial Directorates provide the Local Police with specialised support in accomplishing their judicial missions.

The main structural support missions carried out by the directorates are the following:

• Interventions by the Technical and Forensic Police Laboratory.
• Support by strategic and operational analysts.
• Assistance by the “Computer Crime Unit”.
• Advice and assistance in managing informers or in applying special investigation techniques.
• Supplying infrastructure for the purpose of videoed hearings.
• Supplying the Federal and Local Police’s units with services for the purpose of telephony-related investigations (Central Technical Interception – CTI).

In order to facilitate the coordination of judicial police missions and the exchange of judicial information within the district, several liaison officers are detached to the Local Police services by the Judicial Director.