Police to Tamp Down in Port Loyola, Lake I

The recent spike in murders in the Jane Usher Boulevard area has raised serious questions about citizen security for residents in that community.  A string of homicides, including the shooting deaths of Justin Hyde and Keith Middleton, has prompted the police department to take additional measures to ramp up patrols and presence in that neighborhood.  Commissioner Whylie addressed the situation in Port Loyola briefly.

Allen Whylie

Allen Whylie, Commissioner of Police

“It’s a fluid situation, a volatile situation. A number of persons have been shot and killed. The difficulty is that the way our system is set up is it requires certain witnesses, etc. to be able to build a case. It also requires forensic, which both things have not been forthcoming. And so whilst we have good information in terms of the players behind these incidents and what is fueling it—which is basically as you alluded to the fight for turf to sell drugs as well as the fact that it is said that some persons who have received drugs have failed to make the necessary reimbursement for those drugs. And so we have brought additional human resources into Belize City and those officers have been deployed in that area. But you must understand that it is not isolated to that area. Whenever the police are there in heavy numbers then there is displacement. And so it is a constant challenge to be able to look at the information that we have and how to strategize and put our resources where we believe is best suited.”

It is expected that there will also be increased police presence in the St. Martin’s area, following a spate of deadly shootings.