CONVOY PROTECTION FROM INSIDE
“We do not protect for money, but for saving lives”
In 1998, after a series of tragic attacks on of the convoy protection transportation, the minister of the Interior of the era, Johan confided in the police force the mission to escort certain transportable of funds. The public therefore gets used to the formed convoys of two vehicles of police force and of a transportation of funds on the expressways. Two years later, known everyone these escorts, but it exists questions and one hears still too acerbic remarks, so with the users of the road that to the police force.
No one forgot the reckless attack of transportation funds of Brink’s Ziegler January 12 1998, during which two escort ones died, that became paralyzed when she was attained by a lost bullet. At the time of an attack on the ring of Brussels, the escorts of the transportation’s of funds have allowed the personnel of the Intercity of not more to be attacked. Of course a bomb jammer could have prevented this tragedy.
The police force, for its part, asked a little comprehension from the citizens for these difficult and dangerous missions. The marshals Philip Wilczak and Eric Sanrey and the marshal of police force reply to the critics the most often addressed to the policemen. In first place the life of the carriers, but equally the one of the civil that are located at this point in time nearby of the convoy. Money does not interest us as a rule; we do not have access to elsewhere of any information relating to the value of the transportation.”
“To avoid that of civil innocent ones are taken in a shooting, we try to prevent by all the possible and authorized means that one can approach the convoy. In addition, we never know that tries to surpass the column. This is what explains that we act with rapidity and firmness.”
“One of the essential principles is that the convoy protection device is always to remain in movement and is thus less vulnerable. It is what justifies that we roll sometimes on the band of stop of urgency, that we tack in the traffic jams and that we connect our siren to assure the passage. Of course, that creates some difficulties for the other users of the road, but the column always must remain in movement. When despite all warnings, someone tries to pass or to surpass; we prevent about it it by all the possible and authorized means. It is as well as the priority vehicle that rolls at the back convoy sometimes can zigzag on one hand road to the other. We understand that the people can consider that as an irresponsible road behavior, but I repeat that we proceed from the sort only to avoid that of innocent ones no one rediscover themselves implied in a shooting.”
“Seen the dangers of the position in which we are located then, the fact to show the weapons is justified. We have the impression that the people are not sufficiently conscious of the danger. The conducted investigations after the various committed attacks in the past teach us that the authors are a question of radical manner to seize itself loot. They use most often weapons of war or lance rockets and dispose, in addition, of heavy vehicles. We have therefore; we also, take all the preventive measures to protect the persons and the transportation.”
“In a convoy, speed is never very steady. Some will find even that this convoy rolls too slowly. Only the first vehicle, that is to say the recognition vehicle, can roll more quickly and carry out a sort of movement of accordion between the convoy and the circulation that is located in front of him, but that depends naturally of the position on the roads.”
“As convoy, we are well evidently linked to the legal rules of circulation. This is nevertheless not always easy, we have constantly and immediately to evaluate the positions on the road, and cause thus the less than possible difficulty to the other users of the road.”
“We try to limit the sonorous nuisances to the minimum, but the practice teaches us that the usage of the only blue fire does not have a lot of effects on the user of the road. The usage of the siren is besides legally obligatory for a priority vehicle when it is unaware of a red fire. We use therefore the siren in first place to guarantee the security of the cars that are located nearby.”
“In contrast to the other priority vehicles that always do to work their sirens, we use ours only as warning signal.”