1,213 false licences seized

23 March 2005

BRUSSELS – Some 1,213 false driving licences were seized on Belgian territory in
2004, according to the Central Office for the repression of false documents (OCRF).

However, out of the total of 9840 licences examined, most of the false ones were foreign, and only 85 forged Belgian licences.

In 2003, out of 11 377 driving licences seized, 872 were false.

The OCRF says the number of false licences in Belgium is under control and nowhere near the catastrophic proportions seen in France where around 2.7 million false documents are believed to be circulating.

OCRF works round the clock to assist the police with the verification of all types of documents.

In 2003, 797 false passports were discovered, 754 false identity cards, 719 false residency permits and 14 false visas.

The full statistics are not yet known for 2004.

In France the situation regarding false driving licences has been described as worrying.

According to the Institute of criminology in Paris, over 650 000 false documents were gathered between 1985 and 2003.

However, 100 000 Belgian drivers are suspected to be driving without a licence altogether.

This figure was first cited in 2000 by ex-Justice Minister Marc Verwilghen, and currently tallies with the number of people driving without insurance.

Drivers without a licence risk a EUR 1,000 to 10,000 fine and 15 days to six months in jail.

In France again the figures are worse, with an estimated 2.5 million people driving without a licence, 7.5 percent of the overall total of drivers.

Subject: Belgian news