All Solutions to Rising Crime on the Table, including Gang Lockdown

Chester Williams

As police commanders from across the nation gathered at the Police Training Academy in Belmopan on Monday to plan the Department’s response to crime, we asked the Commissioner of Police to speak on the recent increase in murders, particularly those which are gang-related or during curfew.

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police

“The matter in Belize City where, in the West Landivar Area, people socializing after hours in their back yard. Police cannot see what they are doing there. Socializing went bad and one person killed another. Those are beyond the scope of the police. Now, as it relates to the shooting in the Mayflower area, while it was during curfew, these are people who live in the same neighbourhood. So, they move around in the area and did what they wanted to do. Unfortunately, the person of interest in that particular case was shot and killed in the St. Martin area. We have discussed as commanders with a view to see how we are going to forge the way forward, and I will be discussing with my Minister to see if we can make certain recommendations in respect to that. Like we said, last year was good, but we had a number of lockdowns last year, including three month lock- down for the gang members in Belize City. So perhaps that is what they want, so we will see where we can go with that.”