Drug use and drug trafficking are on the increase in the capital, according to a recent federal police report on crime figures between 2014 and 2024.

The figures also highlighted that terrorism and extremism charges and vandalism cases went down by half over the same period.

Cocaine sales almost quadrupled, from 197 police reports in 2014 compared to 708 in 2024.

In 2024, 508 drug-dealing suspects were identified, mostly men (499) and adults (480).

Sales of synthetic drugs such as party pills and the opiod Fentanyl have tripled since 2014. Meanwhile deals in large quantities of cannabis went up ten-fold, with police catching dealers in the act 897 times in a year.

The report does not analyse the impact of increased drug trade on other crime but shows that money laundering is increasing – with more than 1,000 cases recorded in 2024.

Trade in illegal firearms is also on the rise. In 2024, for the first time, people carrying or transporting weapons have been seen openly, with 73 firearms detected on the street.

Public-sector corruption rates also went up – peaking in 2021, 2022 and 2023. At that time there were respectively 34, 43 and 53 cases of bribery reported by police in Brussels, meaning a civil servant accepted money to carry out an assignment. Before these years, and also in 2024, figures fluctuated around the 20-case mark.

At the same time, cybercrime is rising, with payment card fraud cases doubling since 2014. There are also five times as many phishing incidents. Some 140 cases were recorded in 2024 in Brussels.

Brussels police officers are also much more likely to intervene in family disturbances. Since the Covid crisis, interventions rose to more than 1,500 in 2024. Before the corona pandemic, up until 2019, there were only about 300 cases a year.

In absolute figures, no visible increase in physical, emotional or sexual violence between partners or in the family has been recorded. But reports of psychological violence against children are increasing.

Lastly, sexual violence in public spaces may be decreasing, but it is rising on public transport. For other sexual offences, a slight increase has been seen in the last two to three years.

The report analysing the crime figures of all local police zones, with Brussels containing six, also showed that car theft is six times less common in 2024 than at the turn of the century, when there were almost 7,000 reports per year. Toyota is the most stolen car brand.

Figures showed thieves are now less interested in taking cars. In addition, carjacking is 10 times less common since 2000, with 30 cases recorded in 2024.

On the other hand, bicycle theft has almost doubled in the last 10 years. In 2014, the police recorded 2,832 stolen bicycles, compared to 4,684 in 2024. In the year 2000, also when the more coveted and costly electric bicycles were much less common, there were only 791 registered thefts. However, evidently, and this goes for all crime statistics, the real figure would have been much higher.

In general, theft figures have dropped across all categories. Notably, handbag theft has decreased by more than 90% since 2000 and by 75% in the last 10 years, with 121 cases noted in 2024.

"Grab" theft, for example of mobile phones, money or bank cards, went down at a much slower rate of 20% in the last 10 years. There with still more than 2,400 cases recorded in 2024.

Meanwhile, pickpocketing rates fluctuate. After a peak seen in 2019, there were, unsurprisingly given that people were staying at home, far fewer cases registered during the Covid crisis. However, in the last two years some 16,000 cases have been reported, more than twice the number noted for 2000.

The same "corona dip" is evident for shoplifting and armed robbery figures, whose levels have returned to their pre-pandemic level. Armed theft, with a knife or gun, is even increasing, the figures reveal.