Nearly 100 Arrested for Social Gathering

Police clamped down on other social events across the country. Nearly one hundred people were arrested over the weekend, including those in Orange Walk.  According to the Belize Police Department, cops were busy breaking up parties and other social events. Today, Commissioner of Police Chester Williams told the press that more than half of those who were arrested were slapped with the charge of “attending a restricted social event.”

Chester Williams

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police

“Over the weekend, and in particular, yesterday, the police had been extremely vigilant as we had been receiving a number of complaints from residents across the country of persons hosting private parties and persons gathering in large numbers at these parties. That took us to yesterday where we saw in Orange Walk Town, the police arrested a total of seventeen persons who were at a party and in Guinea Grass Village last night, police arrested twenty-three persons who were at a baby shower. In Roaring Creek, police went to an area where there was a party and over forty-persons were detained. Of those persons detained, twenty-three persons were charged who were adults and the others were minors, and so the minors weren’t charged and they were handed over to other responsible adults. In Placencia, police arrested eleven persons who were at a function in that village. And so we want people to understand that as we begin to see an increase in the number of infections across the country, as law enforcement we are going to continue to do as much as we can because we believe that these parties and these large gatherings are contributing significantly to the increase of these numbers. Over the weekend, we saw the unfortunate death of a six-year-old who died from COVID and so I want to appeal to Belizeans to please act responsible and do not just look at things for your instant gratification without thinking about what the consequence of your action will result to.”