The president of the syndicate of municipalities, Syvicol, welcomed that there was finally a focus on the issue of safety, notably in the Gare quarter. This statement followed a meeting with the Ministries of Justice, Police and the Interior.
However, a simple police reform is not enough to tackle the problem, according to him. Furthermore, the problem is not limited to Luxembourg City, but also affects other towns such as Esch-sur-Alzette and Ettelbruck. The experiences near the various train stations are largely the same, he adds. The Syvicol would prefer if the police were tasked with ensuring safety, but this is hampered by an ongoing lack of personnel, despite current recruitment efforts. This has led to the idea of asking municipal agents to complete additional training so that they might take over some of these tasks. This would even allow them to penalise smaller infractions.
Further questions remain open beyond the training issue, says Emile Eicher. Which tasks exactly can these agents take over, and how are they recruited? This also represents additional costs for the municipalities, who will have to employ and train more people.
And what of municipalities who do not have municipal agents? There is no simple solution to the issue, he concludes. But a few avenues have been opened, and there are plans for further meetings with the various players involved.
