Blackett Explains Police Handling of High-risk Prisoners

And finally on our coverage of Mason for tonight, we asked about the obvious presence of elite Police units during the attempted arraignment of the five men on Monday in Belmopan, and also in Belize City on Tuesday. The Police seemed intent on keeping the media away from the five accused murderers, or at least keeping them away from the cameras held by the media. Blackett says that was not the intention, but it is how they handle high risk prisoners.

Russell Blackett, Acting ComPol

“We do not know where the threat comes from outside or within. If you look at the Courts outside whenever people are being transferred to courts they even have on bulletproof vests because of course you know sometimes they are being shot. We have to take all precautions, understandably so, and we have our tactical teams and this is the way we move prisoners who are high risk. We have the normal procedures who might escape, but once we have cases like this we deem them high risk prisoners.”

Russell Blackett

Reporter

“So the security was to ensure that he wasn’t extracted by any outside element?”

Russell Blackett

“Definitely as you heard he is a man of influence but I must tell you that our department is a department of integrity, and that is the reason why we do what we do.”