Rural Eastern Division Retooled for Policing in Belize District

Edward Broaster

There will be peace in the twenty-two thousand square miles of the Rural Eastern Division’s jurisdiction this Christmas, at least if the officers in that division have anything to do with it. The R.E.D. has been in the news constantly of late, as it beefs up its crime-fighting resources and also explores very real interaction with the communities it serves. After a long resource drought, the department is poised for efficiency and maximum effectiveness, and Commander Edward Broaster told News Five that there are big plans ahead.

Sr. Supt. Edward Broaster, Commander, Rural Eastern Division

“Actually we’ve gotten fifteen new officers and Sandhill will be the hub of our communications and operations launch-pad for the entire Belize District. The plans we have in place will come on stream probably by mid-2016 where we want to bring Sandhill onboard to the level that we want to get it. We have two officers stationed in Maskall, but the reduction in crime is not only because of what the Police has been doing. It’s significantly because of the cooperation that the public has been doing and the non-violence that the community has been exuding. So we want to congratulate the people of the Rural Eastern Division for being law-abiding. That is the way we want to encourage our community to be, and those are some of the programs that we have been implementing that will steer that kind of cooperation between the Police and the community.”