Leuven (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – A new Leuven police academy opened with 25 students. Class supervisor Annelies and Provincial Executive Tom Dehaene (CD&V) highlight their role in training instructors and filling Flemish Brabant police vacancies.
As VRT News reported, a new police academy has opened in Leuven. 25 students have started training to become police instructors. The program lasts 12 months and includes both classroom lessons and practical exercises. After completing this training, students will begin a 6-month internship.
What is the impact of the new Leuven police academy on Flemish Brabant?
Officials mentioned that the new Leuven location makes the program more accessible for candidates from the region. Officials say the academy will help develop skilled instructors and improve police training across Flanders.
“I really wanted to take classes in Leuven or nearby.”
says student Eline.
“I was really dreading having to drive to Asse and take the Brussels ring road. Now it’s only a 10-minute walk, which is ideal. I’m really looking forward to getting started, and I hope we can help fill the gap.”
Class supervisor Annelies said she is very excited about the 25 students who have started at the new police academy in Leuven. She explained that it is often hard to fill police instructor positions across the province.
“In recent years, we have worked hard to encourage more young people to join the police,”
Annelies said. She added that their efforts have been successful.
“We have never had so many students before. This intake is urgently needed to fill the vacancies.”
Provincial Executive Member Tom Dehaene (CD&V) also spoke about the importance of the new students. He said the large number of enrollments is a significant achievement.
“These new instructors are needed to fill current vacancies and to keep our police force fully operational,”
Dehaene said.
Local initiatives have been undertaken by Belgium and Flanders to increase access to police training through online resources. In Flanders, the PIVO Institute, located in Asse, was once considered the main centre for providing police instructor training within the province of Flemish.
Similarly, a local training centre was established by the city of Antwerp as an option to allow prospective recruit candidates to gain access to their training easily. In addition, local police services in various provinces have begun to create temporary or regional training hubs for educational components such as tactical training, community policing and so forth.
