A shared hallway, an intercom that opens before anyone asks who is ringing, a corridor where nobody is surprised to meet a stranger: in Saint-Gilles, the first sensor of a townhouse divided into flats is the neighbourhood. 194 residential burglaries were recorded there in 2025, 26% fewer than in 2024. A very clear fall — and an opportunity to look at what really makes the difference in such a dense municipality.
A marked fall, in a series that is anything but regular
The Saint-Gilles series of incidents recorded by the federal police does not fall in a straight line. 344 residential burglaries in 2019, 245 in 2020, 239 in 2021, then a rebound to 311 in 2022: as soon as the COVID restrictions ended, the figures rose again, a reminder that the 2020 low was due to homes being permanently occupied, not to a structural change.
What followed is more favourable: 258 incidents in 2023, 262 in 2024 — a plateau, not a decline — then 194 in 2025. This last figure is the low point of the period, and it represents −26.0% in one year and −43.6% compared with 2019. The municipality is also very far from its 2016 peak (390 incidents) and its 2015 level (375 incidents). In calendar terms, this still means 3.7 incidents per week.
One figure deserves a closer look. In 2025, Saint-Gilles recorded a total of 317 burglaries in buildings, of which homes accounted for only 61%. This is a low share, and a telling one: in a municipality of ground-floor shops, workshops, offices and mixed-use buildings, a large share of break-ins does not target a home. A single building can house a shop on the ground floor and several flats above, with only one street door between them.
Saint-Gilles buildings: the street door is a shared link
In a detached house, security is an individual matter: your door, your garden, your decision. In Saint-Gilles, the first barrier is shared, and that changes everything.
The street door of a divided building protects as many homes as it serves, and its quality depends on the co-ownership, not on you. The intercom is a point of entry: opening ‘for the postman’ without checking means opening for everyone. Once past that threshold, the intruder is in an enclosed space, out of sight, where he can work on a flat door away from prying eyes — exactly the comfort an enclosed garden provides elsewhere.
Two practical consequences. First, the flat door and its cylinder are worth investing in before anything else: it is the only barrier that belongs to you alone. Second, a flat alarm should not be limited to the living room; magnetic contacts on the flat door and on windows accessible from a walkway, a balcony or a flat roof detect the opening, not the movement that follows it. For a flat, an alarm kit covers the essentials without building work or drilling, which also settles the question of the landlord’s consent for tenants.
Vigilant neighbours and alarm verification: what really works
This is where Saint-Gilles’ density stops being a handicap. In a building, there is almost always someone at home: a remote worker, a pensioner, a self-employed person, a courier. The problem is not a lack of witnesses, it is the lack of a signal that turns a witness into an alert.
The neighbourhood information network is the recognised framework in Belgium for organising this flow of information between residents and the local police; it is set up on the residents’ initiative, in partnership with the police zone, which indicates what exists in the neighbourhood and under what conditions. An informal system also works, on three conditions: that someone has your keys, that someone knows when you are away, and that this person has actionable information rather than a hunch.
This is precisely the role of alarm verification. In Belgium, it is mandatory before any police intervention: an alarm going off is not enough; it must be established that something is happening. Technically, it is photo verification detectors that solve the problem: on detection, they send an image. A neighbour who receives a notification with a photo can act; a neighbour who hears a siren in the street hesitates and assumes it is yet another false alarm.
On a balcony, a rear terrace or an accessible inner courtyard, an outdoor detector signals an approach before the opening; for a long absence, a Wi-Fi camera is enough, provided it is strictly framed. For the initial choice, our comparison alarm or camera draws the distinction: one interrupts, the other documents.
The Saint-Gilles grant: 50%, capped at €250, alarms and cameras excluded
Saint-Gilles offers a grant for securing homes against burglary: 50% of the purchase and installation costs, up to a maximum of €250 per dwelling. It covers private homes with no business activity, at the rate of one grant per dwelling per year. The amount we quote comes from the 2023 regulation: it must be revalidated for the current year with the prevention department, as municipal regulations are revised regularly.
The key point: this grant funds mechanical protection, and it excludes both alarm systems and surveillance cameras. What is subsidised are security cylinders and locks, flat-door reinforcements, burglar-resistant glazing and frames. Not a single municipal euro will reduce the bill for a control panel, a detector or a camera.
This is not absurd. In a Saint-Gilles building, mechanical protection is what is most often lacking: original flat doors, cylinders replaced with the cheapest option after a change of tenant, keys copied by successive occupants. The municipality subsidises what delays; electronics, for their part, signal and make it possible to react. The exact conditions are set out on the burglary prevention page of the municipality of Saint-Gilles.
The burglary prevention adviser of the Midi zone
Saint-Gilles falls under the Midi police zone (5341), which it shares with Anderlecht and Forest. A burglary prevention adviser carries out free visits there, with no commercial interest whatsoever.
For a flat, the adviser assesses the real weak point of the flat door — cylinder, frame or strike plate —, the accessible openings and the actual use of the intercom. The adviser’s report is generally required to support an application for the municipal grant: it is therefore the first step to take, before any purchase.
Alarms and cameras: the federal rules, in Saint-Gilles as everywhere
Alarm: declaration within ten days via police-on-web, annual confirmation, outdoor siren limited to three minutes, annual maintenance, mandatory alarm verification before police intervention. The framework comes from the Royal Decree of 25 April 2007 — see our guide on the declaration of an alarm system in Belgium.
Camera: declaration on declarationcamera.be, regulatory pictogram, register of processing activities, and a ban on filming the public highway or other people’s property. In a narrow street lined with façades facing each other, a camera mounted on a balcony almost inevitably captures the pavement or the window opposite if its field of view is not masked. Common areas fall under the co-ownership, not an individual occupant. The details are in our article on the camera law in Belgium.
Frequently asked questions
How many burglaries took place in Saint-Gilles in 2025?
194 residential burglaries were recorded in Saint-Gilles in 2025, an average of 3.7 per week. This is 26.0% fewer than in 2024 (262 incidents) and 43.6% fewer than in 2019 (344 incidents). Across all buildings, the municipality recorded 317 incidents, 61% of which targeted a home.
Does the Saint-Gilles municipal grant reimburse an alarm?
No. The Saint-Gilles grant, worth 50% of the costs up to a maximum of €250 per dwelling, funds only mechanical protection: security locks and cylinders, flat-door reinforcement, burglar-resistant glazing, frames. Alarm systems and cameras are excluded. The amount comes from the 2023 regulation and must be confirmed with the prevention department.
Can a tenant install an alarm in a flat in Saint-Gilles?
Yes, and it is in fact the typical use case for a wireless system, which requires neither structural drilling nor wiring. Only the private areas concern you: the hallway, the stairwell and the street door fall under the co-ownership and require a collective decision.
What is alarm verification and why is it mandatory?
It is the check that a triggered alarm corresponds to a real incident, before any police intervention. It is mandatory in Belgium. In practice, it is handled by remote verification — an image, a sequence of matching detections — or by an on-site check by a trusted third party.
Where can I get free burglary prevention advice in Saint-Gilles?
From the burglary prevention adviser of the Midi police zone (5341), which covers Saint-Gilles, Anderlecht and Forest. The home visit is free and has no commercial interest, and the adviser’s report is generally required to support an application for the municipal grant.
Sources: Police crime statistics, Federal Police DGR/DRI/BIPOL, publication 2025_T04 (cut-off date 24/04/2026) — Saint-Gilles municipal fact sheet. Municipal grant conditions: municipality of Saint-Gilles. Grant amounts and conditions change from one budget year to the next: check them with the municipality before incurring any costs.