Police, army, Coast Guard plan for elections
Having already tasted the tension, not to mention the tear gas of civil strife in the nation’s capital, Benque Viejo, Tower Hill, and downtown Belize City, the Belize Police Department is no stranger to crowd control. Today that experience was shared with some other uniformed services with an eye toward the near future.
Jacqueline Godwin, Reporting
General elections will be held sometime over the next eight months, but although no date has been announced that has not stopped the country’s security forces from preparing for the event.
Brig. Gen. Cedric Borland, Commandant, Belize National Coast Guard
“There will be movements from the Cayes into Belize City, there will be areas for concern with people moving in and we will also be a part of the security team along with police and the B.D.F.”
Gerald Westby, Police Commissioner
“Jackie, nobody knows the date when we will be having elections and that is not to say that we are preparing because it will be held very shortly but it is important that we start to plan ahead and see what support the Defence Force will provide to the police during the upcoming general elections.”
Brigadier General Lloyd Gillett, Commander, B.D.F.
“That all of us work together. It is one country, one government, one flag and one people we I have to serve.”
Gerald Westby, Police Commissioner
“Belize has had an excellent tradition of democracy and we want to maintain that, but we need to plan ahead and work at it.”
Today Brigadier Generals Lloyd Gillett and Cedric Borland, Commander of the Belize Defence Force and Commandant of the Belize National Coast Guard, Police Commissioner Gerald Westby, and senior security officers convened at Price Barracks in Ladyville to strategise and renew cooperative working efforts between the three security forces. The high level discussions not only focused on the upcoming general elections, but the participants were also briefed on intelligence and operational matters.
Brig. Gen. Lloyd Gillett
“Now we are looking at a higher level of coordination. The B.D.F. is responsible for providing for the security, stability and prosperity of Belize. So when we have periods of instability we have to make sure that we are ready to support the police. What we’ve done over the years is establish monthly training with the police in terms of dealing with internal security situations.”
The soldiers and police conduct joint patrols along our borders and in certain communities, especially the troubled neighbourhoods of the old capital.
Brig. Gen. Lloyd Gillett
“In Belize City, over the last couple years we have been engaged in supporting police mostly in hot spots, in areas that they felt that they needed more fire power, more manpower to stabilise these areas.”
If someone is found doing something illegal it is the police who make the arrest and prosecute that individual. But just how long will the B.D.F. maintain a visible armed presence on the streets?
Brig. Gen. Lloyd Gillett
“I think that the police has a serious manpower challenge and they’ve been recruiting more officers and I think as they continue to recruit and as the people have more respect for the police, then the B.D.F. will eventually disengaged from that activity.”
It is the third time that the B.D.F. and police are holding the high command meeting, but it is the first time that the recently formed National Coast Guard has been invited onboard to participate in the discussions.
Brigadier General Cedric Borland
“We have seen the B.D.F. and the police extensively involved in security and recently with the formation of the Belize National Coast Guard, it is also important that we look at maritime security.”
“We have drug smuggling, weapons smuggling, human smuggling, illegal fishing, safety at sea that we are looking at and also there are destruction to our resources out there that we have been looking at as well.”2
The Belize National Coast Guard, which was formed in November of 2005, has a fleet of eight vessels and fifty-six guardsmen and women.
