BPD Hosts Meet & Greet
For some time now, community policing is a strategy that has been advanced by the Eastern Division of the Belize Police Department throughout the city. On Sunday, the South Regional Commander joined residents, primarily the youth, of the Mayflower to Ebony Street area at the Berger Field in Belize City for sporting activities. Well since Wednesday, Senior Superintendent Chester Williams and his team have been on the ground in the areas of Jane Usher Boulevard/Freedom Street and Caesar Ridge Road/Gill Street to meet and greet residents. This is part of the department’s continued effort to mitigate the violence and crime in these hotspots.
Sr. Supt. Alden Dawson, Deputy Commander, Eastern Division South
“This is something that we have been doing for a while, but with the new commander, he decided that we go back to it at a more indebt sort of way. So since yesterday we have been doing the precinct one area and today we are in the precinct two area. Next week we will be doing Saint Martin’s and all this other area behind the complex and the reason for the meet and greet is to get a feedback from the community, how they see the officers and what we can do to make their lives a little better from the police side.”
Alden Dawson
Duane Moody
“Sir are you finding that residents are forthcoming, receptive to what the officers are doing in the area?”
Sr. Supt. Alden Dawson
“You know, since I’ve been out in the last two days, I have not found one negative family as such. Of course, they have little issue that in some cases they want to see a little more patrol and we will ensure that that happen. What we find a lot in this area is the lighting condition; the people are complaining about the lampposts that are not lit and the high bush. So what we will do at the end of this meet and greet session, we’ll compile a report and we will send a copy to the B.E.L. people and the City Council who are responsible for those areas and we will do follow up to see how best we can assist with cleaning some of these yards and lighting up some of the lampposts.”
Duane Moody
“Sir would it be fair to say that it’s hotspots that you are targeting?”
Sr. Supt. Alden Dawson
“Well not really. We are looking at the area where crime is in a higher area but not really hotspots because we are looking at here and on Louise Bevans Street and the other streets. We want to reach everywhere because we want to get a true picture of what the people think about police and how it can get better.”
Duane Moody
“Now, one of the things that we are seeing is that most of these crimes—major and the others—are committed by the younger generation, the youths. How are you guys reaching to them? Because I know you go to the older heads and of course they are law-abiding citizens but it seems that the youths are the ones giving trouble.”
Sr. Supt. Alden Dawson
“To be honest to you, if anybody could change the mentality of the youths, it is the mothers and fathers. We reach out to the youth through the mothers and fathers.”
