Liège recorded 1,385 residential burglaries in 2025: 26.6 per week, almost four a day. The trend is downwards, but it is slow, and it starts from a very high level. The decisive point, however, is not in the curve: it is in the door, window or skylight through which burglars actually enter a house in Liège.
A real decline, but from a very high level
The series published by the federal police for the municipality of Liège is as follows.
| Year | Residential burglaries |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 1 796 |
| 2020 | 1 214 |
| 2021 | 1 681 |
| 2022 | 1 525 |
| 2023 | 1 456 |
| 2024 | 1 432 |
| 2025 | 1 385 |
The drop in 2020 is a one-off accident: 1,214 incidents, then an immediate return to 1,681 in 2021. From then on, the curve becomes much more interesting, because it is regular. Four consecutive falls — 1,525, 1,456, 1,432, 1,385 — with no jolts and no rebound. This is not a windfall effect; it is a slope.
But it is gentle. Between 2024 and 2025, the decline is only 3.3 %. Over six years, it reaches 22.9 %: a real improvement, but one that does not change the order of magnitude of the risk for a household. The historical starting point puts everything into perspective: in 2000, Liège recorded 3,742 residential burglaries, and still 2,156 in 2015. The municipality has therefore more than halved its volume in a quarter of a century, while still remaining today at a level counted in dozens of incidents per week.
In Liège, it is homes that are burgled first
In 2025, the municipality recorded 1,802 burglaries in buildings, all types combined. Homes account for 77 %. This is a clearly residential proportion: shops, offices and workshops do appear in the Liège statistics, but they are not the core of the phenomenon.
In practical terms, this means that a household in Liège is not collateral damage of crime that mainly targets economic activity. It is the main target. That is what justifies looking very closely at the building stock, rather than reasoning in terms of 'high-risk neighbourhoods'.
Liège's building stock: where burglars really get in
Liège is a dense, old city, built mostly of terraced town houses, often narrow and tall, largely subdivided into flats over the course of the 20th century. This layout produces a break-in profile very different from that of a suburban housing estate, and it concentrates the risk on four points.
The street door. In a terraced house, it is the only front access, it opens directly onto the pavement, and it is often original: solid wood, old frame, single-point lock, sometimes a glazed transom just above the handle. It is visible, which protects it during the day, and deserted in the evening, which makes it vulnerable.
The flat's front door. In a subdivided building, it is this door that really protects the home, not the shared street door. A Liège building with several doorbells lets many people through without control: deliveries, visitors, canvassers. The intercom filters the first threshold, not the second.
The back and the courtyards. Liège's old urban fabric is riddled with inner courtyards, cul-de-sacs, alleys and small yards serving the back of the houses. These access points share three flaws: they are invisible from the road, they are poorly lit, and once you are there, nobody sees you. A kitchen or utility room on the courtyard level is structurally more exposed than a street door.
The top. Buildings on slopes, adjoining roofs, skylights, recessed terraces, low extensions: in Liège, an upper floor is no guarantee. A top-floor window accessible from a neighbouring roof is an access point like any other.
What this changes for detection
If entry is through the back or the top, an alarm with all its detectors in the living room and hall comes too late: it records a presence already inside. The approach that works in this building stock is that of the envelope, not the volume.
This translates into magnetic contacts on all openings that are actually accessible — including those considered 'too high' or 'too small' —, detectors placed at the compulsory passage points rather than in the living areas, and an outdoor siren on the courtyard side as much as on the street side: in a closed alley, noise is a very effective social signal, and deterrence during a break-in remains the main reason burglars give up. Everything is managed from a single control panel; our comparison Hub 2 versus Hub 2 Plus explains the choice according to the size of the building and the number of floors. For a courtyard or a deep alley, a surveillance camera usefully complements the set-up, provided the legal framing rules are respected.
No municipal grant identified, but a free visit
We have not identified any municipal regulation providing a burglary security grant for the municipality of Liège. These grants exist in some Belgian municipalities, are voted locally and change from one year to the next: they cannot be assumed, they must be checked with the municipal administration.
What does exist, on the other hand, and costs nothing: the burglary prevention adviser of the Liège local police (5267). The adviser visits, examines the real access points — including the courtyard and the upper floors, which nobody shows spontaneously — and gives an opinion with no commercial interest. The City explains the procedure on its page dedicated to burglaries. In a divided building, the adviser's opinion also covers the common parts, which makes it a useful lever with a reluctant co-ownership.
What Belgian law requires once installed
Two distinct regimes, both federal: they vary neither by municipality nor by region.
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. Legal basis: 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, ban on filming the public road and other people's property. In the narrow streets of central Liège and in shared courtyards, this rule is not theoretical: it often means lowering the camera, bringing it closer to the façade and masking part of the field of view. Details are in our article on the camera law in Belgium.
Frequently asked questions
How many burglaries were recorded in Liège in 2025?
1,385 residential burglaries, according to the federal police crime statistics. That is 3.3 % fewer than in 2024 (1,432 incidents) and 22.9 % fewer than in 2019 (1,796 incidents), an average of 26.6 incidents per week.
What is the most exposed point of entry in a Liège house?
There is no single one. In old terraced buildings, the risk is spread between the street door, the flat's front door in a divided building, rear access points onto a courtyard or alley, and upper openings reachable from an adjoining roof or an extension. Rear access points combine being unseen by neighbours with poor lighting.
Are burglaries falling in Liège?
Yes, but slowly. The municipality has recorded four consecutive years of decline since 2021, from 1,681 to 1,385 incidents. The decline is only 3.3 % between 2024 and 2025, and the level remains high in absolute terms.
Is there a municipal security grant in Liège?
We have not identified any municipal grant regulation for Liège. These grants are decided municipality by municipality and revised regularly: check with the municipal administration or the burglary prevention adviser before any purchase.
How can you get free burglary prevention advice in Liège?
By contacting the burglary prevention adviser of the Liège local police (5267). The visit is free, with no commercial interest, and covers the real access points of the home. The City of Liège explains the procedure on its page dedicated to burglaries.
Sources: Police crime statistics, Federal Police DGR/DRI/BIPOL, publication 2025_T04 (cut-off date 24/04/2026) — Liège municipal fact sheet. Burglary prevention: Liège local police and City of Liège. Municipal schemes change from one year to the next: check before incurring any costs.