New South Side Commander on Tackling Crime

Daniel Arzu

As we’ve reported, the changes within the command of the police department have seen Senior Superintendent Howell Gillett now in charge of the Special Patrols Unit of the Police Department. He is being replaced by Superintendent Daniel Arzu, who was the Commander of Operation ACT. Now Gillett was known for his strong community policing skills while Arzu is known for his operational skills in tackling crime. Arzu told News Five today that he will use a combination of both approaches to mitigate crime on south side Belize City.

Supt. Daniel Arzu, Commander, Region One, Eastern Division

“In terms of myself and strategies, it will continue, we’ll maintained the community policing; we will maintain the connection with members of the public and also continue our engagement on the street to ensure that we reduce crime at all cost. We continue to go into the areas infested by criminal gangs and we’ve been having this mediation; we’ve been actually engaged in a dialogue to minimise activities of crimes. And in so doing, we also have our officers within those areas to ensure that the areas are kept sterile and safe for our residents and that’s tactically what we are doing. And if you notice, the last murder in the city; it’s been a while—I don’t want to be quick to say anything—but what we are doing at this point in time is certainly working and we believe that we’ll continue it all the way through. What worked for the city will certainly work for us.”