Police Department to Introduce New Ceremonial Dress

The police will soon be donning a new, formal attire pending approval for members of the Belize Police Department. The regalia will be used for ceremonial activities, as well as for officers representing the department outside of the country. As it stands, the existing uniform pales in comparison to formalwear donned by other law enforcement agencies in the region. According to Commissioner of Police Chester Williams, a committee known as the policy group has met and okayed the proposal for a new dress. The final approval, he says, will come from Minister of National Security John Saldivar.

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police

Chester Williams

“We have met at policy group level and we are looking at an appropriate dress that we can use when we go international.  Oftentimes we go on international courses or conferences and when we look at how the other police officers are dressed from across the region or the world and you compare that to how we are dressed, it’s like a no match.  Our ceremonial is not up there and so what we are trying to do is to see how we can bring our ceremonial to the level of the international policing community.  And so we have approved a dress and I am still in the process of amending the police services regulation that deals with the dress code.  And while yes, the law says that the commissioner can make recommendations, it must go to the minister for approval.  So the fact the policy group has approved it, I’m sure it won’t be an issue with the minister.  So I’m in the process of writing to the minister and explaining to the minister what we have agreed upon in the policy group and to get his endorsement and the dress will become fully official for police to use for ceremonial and when we go on international courses.”