Why is Mechelen putting private security guards on its streets for a 'busy August'?
Mechelen is deploying private security guards (bewakingsagenten) through what its administration calls the "drukke maand augustus" to lift residents' sense of security, VRT NWS reports.
In 30 seconds
- Mechelen is deploying private security guards (bewakingsagenten) during the 'drukke maand augustus', VRT NWS reports.
- The city's stated aim is to raise residents' sense of security ('het veiligheidsgevoel verhogen'), not a response to a single incident.
- Bewakingsagenten are licensed private security, regulated by Belgium's FPS Interior — they are not police and have limited legal powers.
- For emergencies the numbers are unchanged: 101 (police) or 112; the local police zone is Mechelen-Willebroek.
Bewakingsagenten are guards employed by licensed private security companies, regulated nationally by Belgium's FPS Interior (Binnenlandse Zaken) under the country's private-security law. Mechelen — a city of roughly 90,000 in Antwerp province, Flanders, known for its compact medieval centre around the Grote Markt — is deploying them during August. They are distinct from the police (the local zone is Mechelen-Willebroek) and from municipal community wardens (gemeenschapswachten). Under Belgian law such guards have no general power to check identity, search people or use force beyond self-defence; their role is presence, observation and reporting.
Background
Mechelen spent roughly two decades rebuilding a public-safety reputation that was once poor, leaning on visible street presence, prevention and camera surveillance. Across Flanders and much of Europe, cities have increasingly blended police with municipal community wardens (gemeenschapswachten) and licensed private security to manage crowds and reassurance during peak periods — a response both to stretched policing budgets and to persistent gaps between recorded crime and how safe residents say they feel.
What to do
If you are in Mechelen this August, expect to see guards who are not police: treat them as extra eyes and a reassurance presence, but for any real emergency still dial 101 (police) or 112, with the Mechelen-Willebroek zone as the local contact for non-urgent matters.
Impact
Regional — Directly affects daily life in Mechelen's city centre during August — the Grote Markt, the Bruul shopping street, markets and terraces — where residents and visitors will encounter guards rather than only police. It also signals how a mid-sized Flemish city manages summer crowds and holiday-season burglary risk, a template other Flemish municipalities could copy.
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- 7 Aug 2026
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This story was assembled from verified evidence, with its sources and reasoning recorded as it was written.