Police Find Lots to Clean Up on Southside

Last week, the command of the Eastern Division South commenced a cleanup campaign across south side Belize City, going into the Raccoon Street Extension area and cleaning up overgrown lots that have been left abandoned. These properties, as has been proven in the past, have been used by criminals to hide their loot as well as escape from police. Today, the initiative continued on Iguana Street. Assistant Commissioner of Police, Chester Williams spoke to News Five about the anti-crime campaign.

Chester Williams

ACP Chester Williams, Regional Commander, Eastern Division South

“We have come across a number of bushy lots and these lots are being used by persons who are involved in criminal activities to conceal firearms, drugs as well as stolen items and there are also occasions when the criminal elements do use the yard to hide and lay wait persons they may want to rob as the case may be. So we are embarking on a campaign now to see how we can, through the collaborative efforts of the City Council, to clean up these yards. And we believe that by so doing, we will make the community much safer. I must say that residents from these different areas have also been complaining of these lots being bushy near theirs and it pose some threat to them because people can use it to hide to lay wait them as they come home late at night as the case may be. So it is a part of our crime fighting strategy to be able to see how best we can make the different communities more safer by eliminating the amount of bushy lots in those areas.”

Next week, the officers and the City Council crew will go into the area of Euphrates Avenue where some lots have already been identified.