The safety situation around the central station in Luxembourg has visibly deteriorated, says Laurent Mosar in his parliamentary question. The Bonnevoie quarter especially should be tackled with some urgency.
Laurent Mosar: For two years now, Bonnevoie residents have been waiting for the installation of cameras. Laurent Mosar has asked Henri Kox, Minister for Internal Security, to take a closer look at the situation in the area, which in places is now much the same as the quartier de la Gare.
In his response, Henri Kox said he was unable to confirm whether cameras would be installed in Bonnevoie because there was some doubt as to their effectiveness. Police presence was also part of the solution, according to him, and they were working on increasing the number of boots on the ground.
Henri Kox: Recruitment is currently proceeding apace, with around 700 candidatesfor 200 posts. This should ensure that our current goal of 200 new positions filled will definitely be reached this year.
Another contentious issue are orders banning people from certain areas, which police minister Henri Kox was not in favour of. General bans like this could not be the solution, according to him. Rather, combating drug crime long term should be the focus.
In spring 2019, then Minister of Interior Security François Bausch asked the General Police Inspectorate (IGP) to study whether the police's CCTV program, called VISUPOL, was effective.
One aspect of this study is a currently ongoing survey of local residents to figure out the impact of CCTV on their objective and subjective feeling of security. This survey was the subject of an urgent parliamentary question by CSV MPs Laurent Mosar and Serge Wilmes. Henri Kox responded in Parliament on Thursday morning.
The video surveillance program is only in use in Luxembourg City, so only households from areas equipped with CCTV have been asked to participate in the survey. In total, these are around 16,000 households in Gare, Limpertsberg, Bonnevoie north and south and Verlorenkost. Eligible households should have found an invitation to participate in the mail on 8 December. They have until 18 December to complete the survey, which is available in 7 different languages. The IGP should receive the results by mid-January 2021 and will include it in their study.
Financing for the survey comes from the Ministry of Interior Security, at around 23,400 Euro, which were included in the 2020 budget.
