800 residential burglaries were recorded within the City of Brussels in 2025. That is 35.9 % fewer than in 2019, and yet it still represents 15.4 break-ins per week. Above all, this figure accounts for only 55 % of burglaries committed in buildings in the municipality: in Brussels, the housing curve tells only half the story.
Which 'Brussels' are we talking about exactly?
The confusion is constant and it distorts any comparison. 'Brussels' sometimes refers to the Brussels-Capital Region and its nineteen municipalities, sometimes to the City of Brussels, which is only one of them. The figures used here are those of the municipality: the Pentagon, the North district, the upper town, but also Laeken, Neder-Over-Heembeek and Haren, which belong to the same municipal territory.
The distinction is not cosmetic. A resident of Haren and a resident of the Marolles appear in the same statistics and depend on the same municipal prevention service, even though they share neither the same building stock nor the same risk profile. A regional figure applied to the City, or the other way round, produces false conclusions in both directions.
Seven years of residential burglaries, without smoothing
For the City of Brussels, the series published by the federal police does not draw a regular slope but a sawtooth curve — and that is what makes it readable.
| Year | Residential burglaries |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 1 249 |
| 2020 | 840 |
| 2021 | 885 |
| 2022 | 1 070 |
| 2023 | 1 124 |
| 2024 | 855 |
| 2025 | 800 |
Three movements. First, the fall from 2019 to 2020 — 1,249 incidents, then 840: this is not a prevention success, it is the lockdown, and residential burglary requires an absence. Then the rebound, slow in 2021 and then clear-cut: 885, 1,070, 1,124 in 2023, three years of continuous increase. Finally the decline, in 2024 and 2025: 855 then 800, or −6.4 % over the last year.
It is this last segment that gives meaning to the six-year balance. The −35.9 % shown between 2019 and 2025 is not the product of a continuous decline: it adds up a one-off collapse, a complete catch-up, then two years of decline. Deciding to do nothing on the grounds that 'it is going down' therefore means misreading the series: it shows that in Brussels, as soon as homes empty again, incidents pick up again. The municipal peak dates from 2015, with 1,297 incidents, and the level in 2000 already stood at 1,154.
What the curve hides: housing is only 55 % of the problem
Here is the most poorly used Brussels data point. In 2025, the municipality recorded 1,445 burglaries in buildings, all types combined. Homes account for 55 %. In other words, nearly one in two burglaries committed in a building in the City of Brussels targets something other than a home: shops, offices, workshops, depots, business premises.
This proportion is the signature of a business and shopping city centre, and it has a direct consequence for residents: in a mixed-use building — commercial ground floor, residential upper floors — a shop window forced at night sometimes gives access to the shared circulation areas. The self-employed person on the ground floor and the household on the third floor belong to the same building, not to the same scenario.
Flat door, shared entrance, intercom: the real perimeter
The building stock of the City of Brussels is dense, often old and largely divided into flats. In this configuration, the rear bay window and the enclosed garden — classic weak points of suburban houses — are not the issue. Three access points concentrate the risk.
First, the flat's front door, which in practice is the only barrier belonging to the home itself. It is often original, sometimes plain solid wood with a single-point lock, and it opens onto a corridor nobody watches. Next, the shared street door: a building with several entrances, accessible letterboxes and an intercom lets many people in without any real control — delivery drivers, canvassers, visitors to another floor. The filter of a Brussels building is social, not mechanical. Finally, the cellars and shared rooms, rarely equipped, often underground, which offer time and discretion.
The set-up that matches this risk is therefore the opposite of the one for a detached house. You protect a small, well-defined envelope: a magnetic contact on the flat's front door and on the frames accessible from a walkway or balcony, a motion detector in the entrance hallway of the flat, and photo-verification detection that turns a notification into actionable information — useful when you cannot get home within ten minutes. The alarm kits cover this type of configuration without building work; our guide on choosing an Ajax alarm in Belgium sets out the possible combinations. For a Brussels flat with two to three access points to monitor, equipment typically costs between €400 and €900, depending on the number of access points to be covered.
No municipal grant identified, but free expert advice
We have not identified any municipal regulation providing a burglary security grant for the City of Brussels. Several Brussels municipalities do offer one, but it is neither automatic, nor regional, nor transferable: each municipal council votes its own regulation, and it changes from one year to the next. Before incurring costs in the expectation of a refund, the only reliable step is to check with the municipal administration.
On the other hand, a free scheme does exist. The City of Brussels comes under the Brussels Capital Ixelles police zone (PolBru, 5339), which provides residents with a burglary prevention adviser. The adviser visits your home, examines the real access points and has nothing to sell — that is the whole point. The municipality explains the procedure on its page 'preventing the risk of burglary'. In a building, the adviser's opinion also covers the common parts, which makes it a good argument to bring to the co-owners' general meeting.
Alarm and camera: the obligations that do not depend on the municipality
For an alarm: declaration within ten days via police-on-web, annual confirmation, outdoor siren limited to three minutes, annual maintenance, and mandatory alarm verification before any police intervention. The legal basis is the Royal Decree of 25 April 2007. Our guide on the declaration of an alarm system in Belgium explains the procedure step by step.
For a camera: declaration on declarationcamera.be, a visible regulatory pictogram, a register of processing activities, and a ban on filming the public road or other people's property. In central Brussels, where façades open directly onto the pavement, this restriction physically determines the installation: a camera pointed at a building's entrance almost always spills over onto public space unless the angle and masking are worked on. The rules are set out in our article on the camera law in Belgium. The national context is covered in our feature on burglary figures in Belgium.
Frequently asked questions
How many burglaries took place in Brussels in 2025?
800 residential burglaries were recorded within the City of Brussels in 2025, according to police crime statistics. That is 6.4 % fewer than in 2024 (855 incidents) and 35.9 % fewer than in 2019 (1,249 incidents). This figure corresponds to an average of 15.4 incidents per week.
Do these figures concern the Brussels Region or the municipality?
The municipality. They cover the City of Brussels alone — the Pentagon, the North district, Laeken, Neder-Over-Heembeek and Haren — and not the nineteen municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region. Each Brussels municipality has its own separate statistical fact sheet.
Is there a municipal grant to secure your home in the City of Brussels?
We have not identified any municipal security grant regulation for the City of Brussels. These grants are voted municipality by municipality and changed from one year to the next: check with the municipal administration or the burglary prevention adviser before incurring any costs.
Do you need to declare an alarm installed in a Brussels flat?
Yes. The declaration must be made via police-on-web within ten days of installation and confirmed every year. This obligation stems from the Royal Decree of 25 April 2007: it is federal and applies to flats as well as houses.
Who should you contact for free burglary prevention advice in Brussels?
The burglary prevention adviser of the Brussels Capital Ixelles police zone (PolBru, 5339). The visit is free, the adviser examines the real access points of the home and has no commercial interest. The City of Brussels explains the procedure on its burglary prevention page.
Sources: Police crime statistics, Federal Police DGR/DRI/BIPOL, publication 2025_T04 (cut-off date 24/04/2026) — Brussels municipal fact sheet. Burglary prevention: City of Brussels and PolBru police zone. Municipal schemes change from one year to the next: check with the municipality before incurring any costs.