How is the Police Department Dealing With Gang-related Crimes?

The scourge of gang-related incidents that continues to take hold of Belize City is an issue that the Belize Police Department is yet to get a handle on. With the Gang Intelligence, Investigation and Interdiction taskforce working diligently to disrupt gang activity, Commissioner of Police, Chester Williams, this morning gave an update on where the department is with addressing gang-related homicides.

Chester Williams

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police

“Yes, we have utilized the law again as it relates to being a member of a gang and so the GI3’s investigation and intelligence section has been busy in terms of investigating these gang members with a view to bringing charges against them. Last week, they were prepared to charge, I think, seven of these individuals for being members of a gang, some of who were caught. They were taken to court, they pled guilty and from what I am told, two persons were sentenced to six months in prison.  I wish the sentencing was more but it is still a start compared to before and we are grateful for that. Some were remanded because they pled not guilty and I think we are still looking for a few. The gang, the GI3’s investigation unit is currently compiling files on other gangs within Belize City and we are hoping that very shortly we should be bringing charges against another set of gang members. So we’re doing what we can from a legal perspective to disrupt the gangs in Belize City and we are hopeful that it will help to reduce the tensions and the crime problem in Belize City, where these gangs are concerned.”