Police Department Acknowledges Increase in Murder Convictions

In Belize’s judicial system, convictions for murder and other violent crimes are far and few.  But one would have noticed that a number of lengthy jail sentences were being handed down this week in the High Court where several men, including brothers Delson and Tionne Paguada, were condemned to life in prison.  On Thursday, Justice Ricardo O’Neil Sandcroft also found thirty-six-year-old Hildebrandt Codd guilty of murder, despite being on the run after escaping from lawful custody earlier this month.  It’s a good look for the police department and the work that it has been doing along with court prosecutors in securing convictions.  News Five took the opportunity to ask Commissioner of Police Chester Williams about the recent increase in convictions.

Chester Williams

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police

“Certainly, there’s a lot that we are doing and, again, I must give kudos to the DPP and her counsel.  I think that they, too, have been doing an excellent job in advising the police on these investigations and when the time comes to prosecute, they have been doing an awesome job of prosecuting these matters.  And so, we are getting the results that we certainly want to see.  Just yesterday, when I got the list of all the persons who were sentenced by the Supreme Court, I sent it to my minister and I said to him, “Boss, these are some very good sentences.”  We’re seeing that criminals are now paying the price, you know.  And one thing that serves as a strong deterrent to crime is the certainty of punishment.  If we can increase the certainty of punishment it is going to decrease the occurrence of crime because as much as these young men may pretend to be bad, they don’t like prison.  That’s the bottom line, and if they know that they are going to be caught and the potential for them to go to prison is going to be high, they are going to act differently.  So we welcome these convictions.”