225 New Police Constables Out of Thousands of Applicants
The deadline for the submission of applications for persons interested in joining the Belize Police Department is Thursday. Over the past two days, the headquarters in Belmopan has been busy with activity, as hundreds of applicants have visited the office to drop off their resumes. It was quite an interesting sight to see that many people lining up to hand deliver their applications. News Five’s Isani Cayetano reports.
Isani Cayetano, Reporting
Unemployment, amid the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic, has left many in a precarious position. Without work, bills begin to accumulate rather quickly and the cost of living seems overly high. On December seventeenth, the Briceno administration announced that an additional two hundred and twenty-five new constables will join the ranks of the Belize Police Department. For some, it is an exciting time, an opportunity is finally here for them to realize their dreams in law enforcement. For others, desperation brought about by joblessness is driving them in this direction.
Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs
Kareem Musa
“Over the last couple of weeks there has been a lot of excitement because of this opportunity that has arisen. We have over forty thousand Belizeans who are currently unemployed at the moment and what we are seeing now because we only have, remember, two hundred and twenty-five spaces available . So we’re seeing in very large numbers, young people coming out, highly qualified young people, some even with bachelor’s degrees applying to become police officers. So while it is a challenging time for us in Belize, it is a great opportunity for the Belize police department to tap into our most qualified individuals out there with very high degrees who are applying. So I think that we will have a very high caliber Intake 95 coming up shortly.”
In Belmopan these past few days, the lines have been snaking, as scores of men and women are trying to beat Thursday‘s deadline. Applicants from across the country have converged at the police department’s headquarters, as well as at the training academy to submit their forms. Of the thousands who have applied, only a select few will be selected.
Kareem Musa
“It was an issue that has already been raised at the cabinet level and it was approved. What I can tell you is that we already had it in our budget for this year to have another additional intake of one hundred and seventy officers. And so, the additional budget was only to find fifty or more, a budget for fifty or more officers to be joining the force. So it’s not a lot that we had to look for in addition to, and so that made it a lot easier. I don’t think I could have gotten away taking to cabinet two hundred and twenty-five and asking the government to find that money at this time.”
Intake 95 is set to commence in January.
Isani Cayetano reporting for News Five.
