New Belgian Penal Code: lighter sentences for unarmed resistance against police
The new Penal Code, in force since 1 September, reduces sentences for unarmed resistance against law enforcement. This reform comes after the murder of Inspector Nordine El Tarbi in Jette.
Reformed penal code: less prison time for those committing unarmed resistance against police officers
According to DHnet, the new Penal Code which entered into force on 1 September reduces sentences applicable to unarmed resistance against law enforcement—a development running counter to calls for harsher punishment following the murder of Inspector Nordine El Tarbi in Jette.
Judge Denis Goeman confirms the change: "Acts of unarmed resistance are revised downwards and punished with a level-one sentence. In practical terms, this no longer entails a prison sentence, but instead a work sentence, probation, a fine or a simple declaration of guilt, whereas the old law provided for eight days to six months of imprisonment."
The room for manoeuvre of magistrates narrows further when the defendant fails to appear. "If the person does not present themselves before the judge, they cannot be sentenced to a work sentence or to autonomous probation, because these sentences must be requested by the person concerned. There is then little left at the magistrate's disposal, aside from a fine or a simple declaration of guilt," Goeman clarifies.
This reform occurs in a particularly tense context for law enforcement. Over the past twenty-five years, 35 police officers have lost their lives in the line of duty. Staffing levels are stagnating despite population growth, whilst gang wars linked to drug trafficking in major cities are making their daily work harder.
Eddy Quaino sums up the evolution on the ground: "Back then, you only wore a bulletproof vest during an intervention, during a robbery. Now it is every day, all the time." For him, "the profession of police officer has never been more dangerous".
The new Penal Code does not, however, move in just one direction. The maximum sentence for wilful assault and battery against police officers has been increased: before 1 September, assault causing illness or work incapacity was punishable by four months to four years imprisonment and a fine of 100 to 500 euros. Since that date, it can result in up to five years imprisonment.
Regarding armed resistance, the maximum sentence increases from two to three years. However, the Code now requires that alternative-to-detention measures be examined as a priority before a prison sentence is imposed.
Source: DHnet