Over 300 Detained for Quality of Life Crimes…

Edward Broaster

Quality of Life Crimes…they are on the books and are now being enforced as a way to target criminal elements.  Over three hundred persons were detained in the past three weeks as police crackdown on quality of life crimes. The controversial arrests have caused public outrage because a number of persons have been arrested unnecessarily and hauled before the courts. But the police believe the operations are highly successful in their attack on crime. Deputy Officer Commanding Eastern Division of the Belize City Police Department spoke on the quality of life enforcement operation.

Sr. Supt. Edward Broaster, Dep. O.C., Eastern Division

“We continue our stop and searches as well as our enforcement of stop and searches as well as the enforcement of bicycle offences, loitering, public drinking and so forth. And over the past three weeks, we’ve made approximately over three hundred and twenty-five arrests of which two hundred and twenty-five of thousand have concluded in our courts. Now, we are quite aware of the controversy being spun around in the media and we want to ensure the general public that the quality of life enforcement is working. When there is no scout, have no doubt, lives are being saved. We have young men who loiter at corners who ride bicycles, who scout for victims and call in shooters for them to come in and take out individuals and our enforcement has been reducing shooting incidents in the city and we will continue to press this quality of life enforcement and we will ensure that we do anything in our power to ensure that the citizens can move about this city safely and freely without harmed being caused to them. So we want to ensure that the public does the right thing and continue to cooperate with us and call when they see crimes occurring and call when they see guns being stashed and what have you and we will ensure that we protect you as best as possible that we are able to with your cooperation.”