Police Offer Tips to Incoming UB Students…

Howell Gillett

Fugitive Edwin Paula was charged for robbery for his role in a brazen jacking on the UB campus in Belmopan in 2013. On and off the campus, students have become easy targets for robbers. Recently Belmopan Police were forced to step up operations after a series of sidewalk robberies, and with school opening next week, those operations will continue into the immediately future with a view to keeping UB students and residents of Belmopan safe.

Supt. Howell Gillett, O.C., Belmopan Police Formation

“It continues to work, but what we know is that on the eighteenth of this month, the University of Belize will resume classes so we will scale up on the officers we have patrolling and the timing to deal with any eventuality. We want to prevent crime so we know that school reopens on the eighteenth, so we have all safety measures in place and this is among other things that we have been doing…meeting with the schools, giving them safety tips. So we still have—and we found that it was working—we found uniformed police officers along with plain clothes officers that are separated so that we can get the crime as they occur.”

Mike Rudon

“Sir, are there any other words of advice? I know that as schools opens, there will be a lot of new students from other parts of the country going to Belmopan. Is there any other word of advice that you can offer them at this time in terms of staying safe?”

Supt. Howell Gillett

“Well we did a presentation on orientation day and it was well received by the students who were knew to UB and we will continue with the lighting system in place now, the trees cleared, but I ask that students don’t carry valuables, try to walk in groups and don’t be on your phones or your I-pads when you are walking. Be vigilant at all times when you are travelling and if you see anything that you feel is out of the ordinary; please call the police right away. You can call 9-1-1 or the direct number which is 802-1404 during normal working hours. We also have 822-0204, 822-0201; those numbers can be reached at any time during the day or night.”

According to Superintendent Gillett, a call to any of those numbers will result in the deployment of a rapid assistance unit.