The Belize Police Department’s Christmas Anticrime Patrols

Fitzroy Yearwood

The Belize Police Department is serious about the safety of the populace not only during this festive season, but all year round. However, during this time, all municipalities are bustling with traffic and persons doing their last-minute shopping for the Christmas holidays. In Belize City, in particular, there are a number of crime prevention strategies that are rolled out to keep the community safe. Assistant Superintendent of Police Fitzroy Yearwood has been campaigning about safety tips for residents.

ASP Fitzroy Yearwood, Communications Director, Belize Police Department

“For the Christmas we have several operational efforts, we have several checkpoints being set up because people don’t understand that it is not just burglary that we are concentrating on or theft from the person, but we are very concerned about our highways our byways, our streets and we try to deter these traffic accidents. We also ask the public to do their part. We are dealing very seriously with drunk drivers. If you are going out, please have a designated driver.  And I don’t mean a designated driver that will have two beers, three beers then designate himself to drive. One beer is enough to impair your judgement. We have several operations that are being conducted by our operational units. You will see them out there; be kind to them. They don’t want to go into your house no more than you want them into your house. We have Christmas anticrime patrol. We have foot patrols on streets that you wouldn’t believe police officers are patrolling, particularly, the downtown area – the main shopping vein. Most of these businesses are closing a little later in the nights so we have patrols out there and they will remain out there until well into January because this is part of our anticrime patrol. We have areas like Orange Street, Albert Street, even on the highway we have these big department stores on the highway. We have patrols in that area. We have more motorcycle patrols, especially in the King’s Park area, Marion Jones area. And not only in Belize City, [but] San Ignacio, Benque Viejo, Belmopan – we have taken our patrols countrywide – Orange Walk [and] Corozal. We know that everybody wants to get out there, people have to work like me and you, so our shopping time would come after five six in the evening. So we have our officers out there.”