Cleanliness: Charleroi is perceived as dirty by half of the people. First, for cleanliness, people’s dissatisfaction is obvious. If half of the people feel living in a neat environment, the other half responds “rather not” (32 %) or even “not at all” (18 %). Worse: questioned about dirt, 66 % of the inhabitants replied that their neighborhood is dirty, with clandestine deposits and trading trash on the street. It is better than in 2018 (they were 73 %, -7 points in 6 years) but it is far from glorious. The other main source of nuisance is the noise of cars and roads.
In Charleroi, “too noisy” vehicles can be seized by the police
Crime: it’s not the drug or scoring crime, but drivers driving their car. Surprisingly, despite everything we hear online, drug trafficking – or the consumption of narcotics on the street – is far in the classification of the main issues of the inhabitants: as an example, Carolos are especially afraid of motorists who drive too quickly (71 %) or who are aggressive behind the wheel (65 %), while drugs only worry. In terms of degradation and theft, the main fear is that of finding your car scratched, stolen or vandalized (43 % of interviewed). The second is that of being robbed (42 % of respondents, especially among those over 65).
High insecurity: only one in three Carolo are safe. The monitor shows a strong correlation between the aspect of the neighborhood and the insecurity felt. At least the district is perceived as “neat”, the most insecure it feels. Upon increase compared to 2018, today 8 % of Carolos say they are afraid “permanently” and 19 % “often”: there is only one in three residents who feel safe! And here, it is rather among young people (15-24 years) that the feeling of insecurity is the strongest, even if without surprise women are overrepresented. One in two women will also avoid leaving alone from her house, according to the instructor. Scary !
The police considered effective but invisible. In summary, it is therefore mainly the speed of the cars and the cleanliness of their neighborhood that annoy people. However, the same audience, interviewed, says that the police focus in priority not on fangios or polluters, but on drug trafficking (61 % of respondents) and on the fight against burglary (54 %). Finally, and above all, 42 % of Carolos estimate that the police are “not visible at all” in their neighborhood, even if they declare that they are “rather satisfied” with police work.
Source : Safety instructor 2024 – ZP Charleroi, 134 pages