Expired Drivers Licenses, Are They Being Disposed of Properly?

Earlier today, there were reports that driver’s licenses were being incinerated at the garbage dump near mile three on the George Price Highway. Residents of Belize City were incensed that sensitive information contained on the documents are being exposed to the public.  The issue stems from the fact that not all of the information on the cards has been destroyed and it is believed that if they get into the hands of mischief makers, it can lead to identity theft and other forms of fraud.  This afternoon, Mayor Darrell Bradley addressed the matter, telling News Five that he became aware of the issue earlier today and has been in contact with Councilor Alifa Elrington-Hyde.

Darrell Bradley, Belize City Mayor

Darrell Bradley

“Privacy and confidentiality is of paramount importance to us, especially when it comes to persons giving us their vital information.  From what I understand, in relation to how we dispose of the discarded drivers license is that they’re sent up to the facility at mile four, mile three and they are burnt and in terms of some of the issues I’ve heard that there are some issues because the cards may not be completely burnt or if there’s burning the top layer or the top two or three layers may be burned and then there is still some cards which may be left not completely destroyed to the point where you cannot no longer see the information that is there.  This is something that we will look at and we will take very, very seriously and we want to assure members of the public that any information that they gave to the city council or any complaint that is made, we deal with it and we deal with it quickly.  It is something that just came to our attention and I’ve already spoken very quickly with Councilor Elrington and other officers are looking at this to see that, to assess whether or not it’s a real concern and then, if so, to ensure that we are ensuring that those drivers licenses are completely destroyed.  Again, this is something that I wouldn’t have thought about because I would have thought that if you are burning something you’ve burned it about eighty percent that that’s something that would be completely discarded and there won’t be people who would go in there to try to see if they could make mischief with the information that is found in there.  So if this is a problem it’s something that we are going to deal with and take very seriously.”