Still No Tourism Police at Caracol
Caracol reopened on October twenty-seventh after being closed for an entire month. There was much hype about enhanced security protocols – beefed up B.D.F. presence and Tourism Police presence ramped up from two officers to six. News Five was at Caracol for the reopening and there were no Tourism Police Special Constables there. And when we checked on Thursday, that was still the case. We checked in with National Security C.E.O. George Lovell who told us he was surprised that the commitment to place more Special Constables on site had not been met.
Via Phone: Ret’d. Col. George Lovell, C.E.O., Ministry of National Security
George Lovell
“I was disappointed to understand that they were not there because I didn’t see any reason why at least the two people who were traditionally escorting the tourists had stopped. When I asked the commissioner about it, he was unaware of it also and when he checked he realized that it was suspended. But they said it was suspended because after the break, the unit did not get the logistic support that was necessary to have them back out there. And so come Monday, they will be out there in the strength that it had initially. I then asked them why is it that he didn’t have the additional four because the numbers were going to increase from two to four. I was told that they had just had interviews where there were a hundred and ninety-odd applicants and haven’t really decided on who the twelve that was going to allow them to have the four additional PTU out at Caracol done just yet. So we still have to go through the selection process and they want to do some training before they start. So it is in their ball park; they are the ones who are dragging this out and I hope they understand to expect that they will have the tourism police in numbers that we have agreed.”
Lovell says that in the interim the Belize Defence Force and personnel from the Special Patrol Unit have been taking up the slack created by the lack of Tourism Police Special Constables.
