Police Say Major Crimes are Down in Belize City

Chester Williams

But is community policing an effective approach to addressing the issue of crime and violence in the Old Capital?  According to Senior Superintendent Chester Williams, when compared to August 2014, the numbers so far have reduced considerably.  That is, Williams says, because residents of Belize City have been receptive of the new method.  In Precinct One, which includes the crime-ridden neighborhoods of Taylor’s Alley and Ghost Town, major crimes have gone down by as much as fifty percent. 

Sr. Supt. Chester Williams, Regional Commander, Eastern Division South

“In terms of the policing effort, the community policing work that we have been doing, as I have always said that it is basically to bridge that gap between the police and the community.  What we want to do by our meet and greets that we do every week is to show the law abiding populace, as well as those who are involved in criminal activities, the human side of the police.  The objective is to show people that, you know, the police are here to work with you and we want to be your friends, we want to hear your concerns.  And people have been very receptive to the work that we have been doing on south side Belize City, they’ve welcomed us into their homes and the perception of police on south side Belize City, as well as other parts of the country is changing because people are now seeing that the police are serious about community policing and if we can, through the effort that we are doing, remove the perception about the police from the public at large, it will help us significantly in our fight to reduce crime in Belize.  And I will tell you that when we compare our statistics for August this year to August last year, in the Precinct One area last year in the month of August we had two murders.  This year in Precinct One August there is no murder and we must understand that Precinct One has the Mayflower area which was a problem to us when I came and it has Taylor’s Alley as well, another problematic area and our results, our efforts have yielded good results in that area.  In terms of major incidents comparing Precinct One, last year August to this year August, last year we had a total of eighteen major incidents.  This year August we have nine, that’s a reduction of fifty percent.  In terms of Precinct Two.  Last year August we had two murders.  This year we have one and that is the one that took place on Saturday night.  And in terms of major incidents, last year August we had a total of twenty-one.  This year August we have a total of fourteen, so that’s a reduction of something like forty percent again.  So we can see where the policing effort is paying dividends for us on south side Belize City and we continue to push our community style policing and we believe that by doing this we can bridge that gap between ourselves and the public.”

Since returning for duty in Belize City a few months ago, Williams has been leading an active campaign to curb crime and violence through community policing in an effort to create an understanding between the department and residents.