As part of its public safety missions, the Huy Police Zone intends to deploy a mobile surveillance camera equipped with digital recording and storage capabilities. This equipment aims to increase the safety of citizens and police officers, and to facilitate the management of various situations encountered within the municipal territory. It will be used for securing events, managing interventions and crises, monitoring traffic and road safety, preventing and detecting offenses, searching for offenders and collecting evidence, as well as gathering administrative police information.
Collected data will include video and photographic images, and potentially audio recordings if permitted by law. Metadata will specify the date, time, camera identification, and capture location.
Jean-Marie Dradin, the Chief of Corps, emphasizes that this mobile approach is preferred over installing additional fixed cameras. It allows for punctual surveillance capacity in different neighborhoods, even those without recurring issues. The goal is to ensure more flexible territorial coverage, adapted to operational needs, while respecting proportionality and privacy protection principles.
The mobile camera can be deployed in ten identified sectors, including the Ben-Ahin Industrial Zone, Square Henrion, Centre Nobel, Sarte (near the finish of the Flèche Wallonne), Parc Vierset, Parking Europe, Rue de l'Hôpital, near the Batta cable car station, the athletics track and omnisports hall, as well as Rue Albert Legrand. The approval of these locations will be submitted to the Communal Council on Monday, October 5th.
Olivier Humblet, the sports alderman, specified that the athletics track is regularly subjected to waste dumping and improper use (bicycles, skateboards, scooters), as well as a theft of sand. Collected data will be recorded in the integrated police treatment register and subject to the oversight of the Police Information Control Body.
Furthermore, since 2020, the Huy Police Zone has modernized and expanded its network of fixed surveillance cameras, with an investment nearing one million euros. Mayor Christophe Collignon explains that this program aims to enhance security, support emergency and police services, and improve offense prevention and detection.
The current network has been developed in stages: modernization of the historical network (2021-2023) and expansion to city entrances and strategic points (2024-2025). A new investment phase of 200,000 euros is planned for 2026, covering areas such as the Ben-Ahin industrial zone and Vieux-Huy.
The placement of cameras, both fixed and mobile, is based on a needs analysis and objective criteria, ensuring a modern, effective, and proportionate tool, strictly within the legal framework for privacy protection and personal data processing.
