Belgium's Blind Police

Belgium's Federal Police Force recently recruited the six officers to listen in on phone-taps and interrogations in the hope they will pick up on clues that others might miss -- and there are plans to expand the group to thirty.

"The voice … is one of the most unique things that exist; it’s like a fingerprint," said one of the new officers, Sasha, who speaks seven languages and has been blind since birth.

Sasha doesn’t just use his skills to recognize voices and hear differences between them. He also pays attention to "the sounds at the back" to decipher where people are.

"I mean, are they in a station, are they in an apartment, are they in a big room?" said Sasha, as he explained the importance of knowing where people where calling from.

Belgium's strict privacy laws mean the police must get a judge to approve every wire tap they want to run. Sasha's work is so sensitive his computer screen is blank so that sighted people can't read what he types.

Sasha is currently teaching himself Arabic with a view to doing more counter-terrorism work. He said his friends and family were worried for his safety in his new job, but he feels he can really contribute to the police listening unit.

International scope

According to Chief Superintendent David Vroome, the "international connections" and scope of Belgium’s program sets it apart from those in other countries such as the Netherlands.

"We are talking about criminal organizations, let's say the Mob," Vroome explained. "We're talking about counter-terrorism, we're talking about big banditism and about the smuggling of people."

With the expansion of the European Union, there is an urgent demand for police officers with language skills, Vroome said, adding that blind people have an "enormous capacity" for languages.

Keen to highlight the effort taken to integrate the new "listening squad", Vroome pointed out where physical obstacles have been cleared away from corridors and offices.

Sighted officers also received training in how best to communicate with their visually-impaired colleagues, learning for example, to state the blind person’s name before talking to them.

Meanwhile, the feedback from the so-called listening chambers has been good, although the police won't reveal how many arrests have been made.

But for Sasha, who enjoys the humor and camaraderie of his new colleagues, to be wanted for his language and listening skills in the fight against crime, is satisfaction enough.