VRT reports on the origins and usage of anti-police slogan ACAB
The anti-police slogan ACAB, an abbreviation for “All Cops Are Bastards”, has resurfaced during recent protests in Belgium and France, appearing as graffiti, numeric codes, and provocations that have drawn both legal penalties and sharp public debate, VRT reported on October 20, 2026.
The Legal Fallout of a Provocative T-Shirt
A man who disrupted a memorial service for Nordine El Talbi, a 41-year-old police officer shot and killed in the line of duty, agreed to a 6,000-euro settlement after police arrested him for wearing a provocative T-shirt and showing his middle finger to mourning officers, according to reporting from VRT, HLN, Nieuwsblad, and BRUZZ. The incident brought the ongoing tensions surrounding anti-police rhetoric directly into a solemn public mourning ceremony in Brussels.
Decades of History Behind the Numeric Codes
While the acronym gained renewed visibility during recent union riots in Brussels—where the extreemlinkse group Secours Rouge used the code 1312 and 13.12 hours on social media to share police positions—its origins stretch back decades. VRT reports that the slogan likely originated in England during the 1950s before British punk and skinhead movements popularized it in the 1970s and 1980s. From there, it spread into anarchist, antifascist, and eventually Black Lives Matter circles globally.
Users deploy the slogan to protest alleged police brutality. Some activists connect the phrasing to abolitionism, the ideological stance that traditional police forces, judicial systems, and prisons should ultimately be dismantled. French activist Gwenola Ricordeau argues in the source material that police exist primarily to protect the state and private property, suggesting communities could organize their own care and security instead. That particular viewpoint remains strictly marginal.
Diverging Judicial Standards Across European Courts
Legal treatment of the abbreviation varies significantly by jurisdiction, meaning demonstrators and prosecutors face different laws depending on where they are. In Germany, the Federal Constitutional Court ruled in 2017 that ACAB can fall under free speech protections as long as the expression is not directed at specific, individual police officers. Conversely, the Dutch Supreme Court decided in 2020 that the abbreviation is widely recognized and that football supporters who shouted it directly at officers were guilty of criminal insult. In an unexpected twist noted by VRT, some German police officers later appropriated the letters for a recruitment campaign, reframing the acronym to mean “All Cops Are Beautiful.”
Unresolved Confrontations on City Streets
Recent protests in France alongside those in Belgium have resulted in structural damage, looting, and injuries to both civilians and law enforcement personnel.