A trend showing a rise in burglaries for three years running is worth taking a closer look at. After hitting a low of 209 in 2022, the number of residential burglaries in the municipality rose to 256, then 274, and finally 297 in 2025 — that’s an increase of 8.4 per cent in the last year alone. Three consecutive rises are no longer a statistical fluke: it’s a trend, and one that deserves to be taken seriously before starting any building work at home.
Reading the Tournai figures without fooling ourselves
There are two contrasting interpretations, and they suggest opposite things. Over the period as a whole, Tournai shows -35.0%: 457 residential burglaries in 2019 compared with 297 in 2025. This is the figure quoted in the press releases, and it is correct.
It is also out of date. Most of this decline took place between 2019 and 2020 — 457 and then 246 incidents — that is, during the COVID restrictions, when homes remained occupied at all times. Since then, the trend has reversed: 243 incidents in 2021, 209 in 2022, and then 256 in 2023, 274 in 2024 and 297 in 2025. Three consecutive years of increases, the latest of which was up 8.4 per cent. On a weekly basis, Tournai is averaging 5.7 residential burglaries per week.
A word about historical figures, so as not to mislead anyone. The municipal fact sheet shows 209 incidents for the year 2000, which is significantly lower than the 556 recorded in 2015 and the peak of 560 reached in 2017. A discrepancy of this magnitude within the same municipality is more likely to be explained by a break in the recording of incidents than by the actual situation on the ground: we therefore do not use it as a point of comparison. What is reliable is the recent trend, measured using the same method year on year — and this trend is upwards.
One final point to bear in mind: of the 359 burglaries in buildings recorded in Tournai in 2025, 83 per cent target a home. Despite its shopping centre, Tournai is first and foremost a town where homes are burgled, in an area that combines an old town centre with large suburban outskirts.
The impact of building works on a house in Tournai
Tournai’s built heritage is old, and it is being renovated: insulation, replacement of window frames, conversion of outbuildings, and the conversion of town centre buildings into housing. Yet a house undergoing renovation is, for several weeks, the most accessible house on the street.
The reasons are practical, not mysterious. A door that has been removed is replaced by a temporary panel. A window frame awaiting installation leaves an opening covered by a tarpaulin. Scaffolding provides direct access to the upper floor, precisely where no security measures have ever been put in place because ‘it’s high up’. The garden gate remains open all day for deliveries of building materials. And above all, the comings and goings become the norm: a stranger entering your property with a bucket in their hand surprises no one – neither the neighbours nor you.
Added to this are two factors specific to the building site. The equipment stored on site — tools, sanitary ware, appliances, cables — can be resold immediately. And the number of people with a means of access increases: the main contractor, subcontractors, delivery drivers, and sometimes a key left under a flowerpot to allow the first person to arrive to open the door. That key often outlives the end of the works. Replacing the lock cylinders upon handover of the works is the least expensive measure and the one most systematically overlooked.
Security during building works: the useful minimum
There’s no need to install a permanent system in the middle of all that dust. Three measures are enough to cover the period.
- Detect access points that exist only temporarily: the boarded-up opening, the makeshift door, the landing accessible from the scaffolding. Wireless magnetic contacts can be fitted and removed without drilling.
- Get an image, not just an alert. On a building site, false alarms are guaranteed: a tarpaulin flapping in the wind, a draught, a worker coming back to fetch a tool. Without photo verification, you will deactivate the system after three days — and the alarm verification required in Belgium will remain a dead letter.
- Make the presence of a system visible. An outdoor siren signals that the house is not merely empty, and interrupting a break-in in progress remains the most tangible effect of an alarm.
A stand-alone wireless system, which can be moved as the works progress, is better suited to this phase than a fixed installation: see the Ajax control panels and our guide which Ajax alarm to choose in Belgium.
After the building work: the window that won’t open again
The building works present an opportunity that disappears the moment the skirting boards are fitted. As long as the chases are open, the suspended ceilings have not been closed off and the ducts are accessible, running cables costs next to nothing. Once the renovation is complete, the same work means breaking things open.
This is the key argument in favour of a wired installation in an old house in Tournai, where thick walls, vaulted cellars and outbuildings at the back of the plot can sometimes put wireless connections to the test: see the Ajax Fibra range and the selection Ajax X-Observer. Three decisions must be made whilst the work is in progress, not afterwards: the location of the control panel, the power supply for an outdoor siren, and the cable point for a future camera at the rear entrance.
Finally, renovation is the only time when mechanical protection can be fitted at marginal cost. A new window frame can be ordered with burglar-resistant glazing and security fittings; a replacement door can be fitted with a security lock cylinder from the outset. The additional cost at this stage is incomparable to the cost of retrofitting at a later date.
Subsidy, free advice: what can be verified in Tournai
We have not identified any municipal subsidy in Tournai for home security. Some Belgian municipalities do offer one, and it is important to know what they cover: this financial assistance funds mechanical protection — locks, cylinders, burglar-resistant glazing, window frames — and almost always excludes alarm systems and cameras. Please contact the Tournai local authority directly before incurring any costs; only their answer is binding, and the regulations are revised from one financial year to the next.
What is found everywhere, however, is the theft prevention adviser. The Tournaisis police zone (5316) offers this service: a home visit free of charge, with no commercial interest involved, leading to a written report. For a renovation project, the best time to call is before ordering the window frames, not after. Advice on glazing and fittings at the quotation stage is worth more than an observation after installation.
What Belgian law requires, whatever the building works
Alarm: registration within ten days via police-on-web, annual confirmation, outdoor siren limited to three minutes, annual maintenance, and mandatory alarm verification before police intervention — federal obligations set out in the Royal Decree of 25 April 2007, detailed in our guide on the registration of an alarm system in Belgium. A temporary site installation is no exception to this rule once it has been connected and is in operation.
Camera: registration on declarationcamera.be, regulatory pictogram, data processing register, and the ban on filming public roads or a neighbour’s property. A camera mounted on scaffolding almost always has too wide a field of view: this is a typical example of an installation that needs correcting. See our article on the law on CCTV cameras in Belgium.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are burglaries on the rise in Tournai?
Yes, since 2022. After hitting a low of 209 incidents, Tournai recorded 256 residential burglaries in 2023, 274 in 2024 and 297 in 2025, representing an 8.4 per cent increase over the last year. The 35.0 per cent decline compared with 2019 remains accurate, but it is based on the fall seen in 2020 and no longer reflects the current situation.
How many burglaries were recorded in Tournai in 2025?
297 residential burglaries, an average of 5.7 per week. Taking all buildings into account, the municipality recorded a total of 359 incidents, 83 per cent of which targeted a home.
How can you protect a house undergoing renovation in Tournai?
By dealing with the access points that exist only during the works: temporary door, opening covered with a tarpaulin, upper floor made accessible by scaffolding. A portable wireless system, equipped with image verification to filter out false alarms caused by the building works, covers this period. Upon completion of the works, the lock cylinders must be replaced: several contractors have had a means of access.
Is there a local authority subsidy in Tournai to help secure your home?
We have not identified any municipal subsidy in Tournai. Where such subsidies exist in Belgium, they fund mechanical security measures — locks, lock cylinders, burglar-resistant glazing, window frames — and almost always exclude alarms and CCTV cameras. Please check with the local council before incurring any expenditure.
Where can I get free advice on theft prevention in Tournai?
Contact the theft prevention adviser of the Tournaisis police zone (5316). The home visit is free of charge and has no commercial purpose. If you are planning a renovation, it is advisable to arrange this visit before ordering window frames and doors, whilst technical options are still open.
Sources: Police crime statistics, Federal Police DGR/DRI/BIPOL, publication 2025_T04 (cut-off date 24/04/2026) — Tournai municipal fact sheet. No municipal security subsidy had been identified for Tournai at the time of writing: please check with the local authority.