Police Meet and Greet Conch Shell Bay with Area Rep Tracy Panton

Today, the Eastern Division of the Police Department held its first meet and greet session on south side Belize City after a new media policy was introduced. The community policing activity saw the officers visit the Conch Shell Bay area, which recently has been seeing a spike in crime. But the police were joined today by Albert Area representative, Tracy Panton, because residents are concerned about the escalation of gun violence in that community.

Tracy Panton

Tracy Panton, Area Rep, Albert Division

“The residents in the area, in particular Lindo’s Alley and also in the Conchshell Bay area, are very concerned with the escalation of gun violence. And so we felt that it was important to do an outreach in the community to give them our reassurance that we are doing everything that we possibly can in terms of dealing with the crime itself and also looking for alternative ways in which we can continue to support our community to try and stem what has happened. Recently there has been a spike in the activity and it is concerning for all of us. Far too many of our young men are dying and as a community we need to come together and do what we can. The police have been very responsive to the community, have been very vigilant in the community and we will continue to work with them and with all other interested parties to ensure that we can find a way forward. I think that certainly from my own personal observations, the police is doing everything that they possibly can and I think what I have heard from the homes that we’ve visited, is that they feel a greater sense of safety and security. They see the police, the patrols are far more frequent and that gives them a level of comfort and reassurance. I can assure you that we are doing everything and the police is doing everything that they can to bring some sense of calm and to do some interventions so that we can get to the bottom of the problem and hopefully be able to get things back to normal.”