New SOE Means More Work for Police Officers

Statutory Instrument Sixty-Two has brought into effect a new two-month state of emergency on May first and with it a revised set of regulations to govern the movement of the citizenry during this period.  The Belize Police Department has its hands full now that thousands of residents are back on the streets in their respective districts.  Enforcing social distancing and the wearing of face masks are among the primary responsibilities of all police officers, aside from responding to major crimes.  Commissioner Chester Williams reiterated earlier today that the department continues to do its part and implores the citizenry, as well as the business community, to adhere to the measures that have been put in place since Friday.

Chester Williams

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police

“From a security standpoint, our efforts have to step up in terms of being able to deal with persons who are moving around.  Yes, we know that with more businesses open that will allow more persons to be on the streets because there are now more reasons to be on the street.  But that will not take away the responsibility from us, in that we still need to stop and question people as to where is it they’re going.  Also bear in mind that the cross-district, cross community crossing is still not permissible and so the checkpoints on the highway are still in place and they, too, continue to question people who are using our highways.  From a law enforcement standpoint, I must say that it has become more difficult for us because of the amount of persons on the street, but we continue to do the best we can with a view to be able to police the situation and ensure that those persons who are out maintain social distance and that they are wearing a mask.  We also want to emphasize to the business owners the importance of making sure that they place the necessary markings within and in front of their establishments indicating the six feet social distance that their customers must maintain and then we want to ask the customers to ensure that they adhere to those measures that they see being implemented by the business establishment they visit.”