35 officers graduate from police course
A graduation ceremony held today in Belize City may not signal a speed-up in the immigration investigation, but it just may help decrease the crime rate in the future. News 5’s Marion Ali has more.
Marion Ali, Reporting
As part of its five-year Policing Plan, the Belize Police Department is providing the force with more and better opportunities for training. Today Police Commissioner Carmen Zetina passed out certificates to thirty-five of its officers who completed a one-week course on crime scene management.
The training was provided by agents from the FBI’s Miami office. Special Agent from the U.S. Embassy’s Regional Security Office, Thad Osterhout, says the instruction ranged across a variety of techniques.
Thad Osterhout, Special Agent, U.S. Embassy
“It covered basically how to secure a crime scene once the police arrive, then how to analyse that scene, how to collect the evidence in a correct manner and they focus on collection of fingerprints, body fluids and then also trace evidence, which really means hair and fibre evidence. Following up on that, then some sketching or basically how to draw a crime scene, as well as photograph the crime scene and then the very last part is how to properly preserve that evidence for later use in court.”
Participating officers welcomed the educational opportunity saying it will be useful to them, if not now, sometime down the road.
W.P.C. Carla Reynolds, C.I.B. Sexual Offence Unit
“There are times when we get a call we would just rush out at a scene without taking much precautions. But after doing this course, we learn how to approach a scene. First, safety and then check to see if anyone was injured, photograph and then sketch and document the scene.”
P.C. Harry Yearwood, Caye Caulker
“I find it as a stepping stone, because this is my first experience with these guys. And the type of field that I do with the police department, I noh really encounter these kinds of situations that we learn about at the course.”
Meanwhile, Commissioner Zetina says his Department is constantly looking at ways to improve itself.
Carmen Zetina, Police Commissioner
“One of the five objectives is the increased detection of crime, and this one of the basic things that we require to do that. So certainly, we need to get more advanced course in criminal investigation.”
C.E.O. in the Ministry of Home Affairs, Alan Usher, says this latest U.S. assistance is just one instance of a strong relationship.
Alan Usher, C.E.O., Ministry of Home Affairs
“There’s an agreement signed between the United Sates Government and Belize two Fridays ago for just under one million dollars for administration of justice, for law enforcement and interdiction, and towards our new forensic laboratory.”
Usher says the Ministry will also revisit the matter of the Department’s mobility…or lack thereof, considering that in many of its vehicles are nearing the end of their service life.
Coincidentally, during his tour of Corozal today Prime Minister Said Musa announced that government had secured one hundred new vehicles for the Police Department which will be distributed nationwide. It has not been confirmed, but we will assume that these are the same vehicles referred to in an advertisement in this weekend’s newspapers. The request for tenders calls for fifty double cab diesel pickups and fifty compact sedans, along with scheduled maintenance and three year financing.
