As far as judicial police missions are concerned, the judicial authorities make decisions regarding the distribution of tasks, collaboration, coordination and integration between the Local Police and the Federal Police, in accordance with the ministerial order of 20 February 2002.

Here is an extract from this order:

“In order to decide who is going to carry out a proactive or reactive investigation and who should assume the responsibility for its operational direction, the magistrate looks at the complexity of the investigation.”

1. The nature of the fact(s) which need(s) to be investigated

If the magistrate deems that an investigation is sufficiently complex, he/she usually asks the Federal Police to conduct it. All the other investigations are entrusted to the Local Police.

a. Investigations into one or several facts which have already been committed or are going to be committed by a criminal organisation.

b. Investigations into the following offences are usually entrusted to the Federal Police:

	Kidnapping.
	Extortion (racket).
	Hostage taking.
	Bomb attacks.
	Carjacking and homejacking.
	Hold-up.
	Assassination.
	Arson.
	Counterfeiting of money and means of payment.
	Trafficking in human beings.
	Serious threats to magistrates, policemen, witnesses, etc.
	Corruption as well as complex and serious crimes and offences which are detrimental to the public service’s moral or material interests, particularly in the framework of - the drafting, awarding and implementation of public contracts; - the finding, granting and use of public subsidies; - the issue of licences, permits and accreditations.
	Organised economic, financial, social and fiscal crime.
	Laundering of the proceeds of serious or organised crime.
	Serious and/or organised social or fiscal crime, i.e. social or fiscal crime which is based on highly complex or internationally-linked mechanisms or which is highly prejudicial to the public treasury of the Belgian state or foreign states.
	Crime against the financial objectives or interests of the European Union.
	Insider trading.
	Misuse of public savings.
	Market manipulation.
	Financial fraud.
	Computer crime.
	Large-scale trafficking: drugs, weapons, ammunition and explosives; environment (waste, nuclear material, protected flora and fauna); hormones; vehicles; works of art / antiques; imitation goods.
	Stealing and extortion of nuclear material.
	Terrorism.
	Sects.

c. Investigations into escape cases are entrusted to the Federal Police if the offences committed by the escapee fall within their competence.

d. Criminal investigations into cases which are part of the State Security Agency’s remit (act of 30 November 1998), in particular if the help of this intelligence agency is sought, are also entrusted to the Federal Police.

2. The nature of the investigation duties to be executed

a. Investigations into one or several facts involving the execution of the investigation duties below are entrusted to the Federal Police:

• Specialised forms of estate analysis.
• Specialised forms of operational analysis (such as profiling).
• Investigation into lawyers, notaries, bailiffs and magistrates regarding one or several offences which they have been committed in the exercise of their duties and are specific to their profession.

b. Investigations requiring special investigation techniques […]

c. The other investigations can be entrusted to the Local Police even if they entail performing specialised investigation duties, such as making recourse to the services of the Technical and Forensic Police Laboratories or recording hearings of sexually abused or seriously ill-treated children.

3. Geographical distribution of the specialised investigation duties

Investigations into one or several facts which require that critical investigation duties should be executed mainly outside the district or the Kingdom are usually entrusted to the Federal Police.

Besides the good distribution of tasks, judicial investigations remain a team work in close cooperation with many partners belonging or not to the Integrated Police. Efficient investigations require indeed concerted actions of several partners which complement one another and strengthen each other for a more secure and viable society.