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Sr. Supt Chester Proposes Southside Kids Curfew?
Thu, July 30, 2015
Since Sr. Superintendent Chester Williams took over the eastern division southside - he's committed to a new approach to policing the few square miles that is one of the deadliest in the world. Yesterday, we showed you how he was out in the streets doing community policing, and, now, he wants to propose a sort of curfew for children on the southside. Surely, we've all heard that one before - but Williams says it's part of a larger strategy to get people off the street and end the endless hanging out which often leads to shootings. He told us about it doay:..

Sr. Supt Chester Williams, OC - E.D. Southside
"Most of the crimes occurring on the streets of Belize City emanates from either loitering or public drinking. So what we will be doing one month from today, we will be enforcing public drinking and loitering. So I am drafting some generic letters, which I will be giving to the patrolling officers. So if they see you to meet you public drinking, they will serve you a written notice informing you, 'you know what, what you are doing here is public drinking, it is contrary to this section of the law and the consequence of public drinking is X,Y,Z and if you are caught public drinking again, this will be the result.' The same thing with loitering. The other issue that I am addressing again in one month time - what we will be doing; the same survey we did reveal that most of the crimes being committed are either by young persons as the perpetrator or the victim is a you person under the age of 18. So I will be giving my officers direction that if you see any young person on the street after 9 - when I say young person, I mean anyone under the age of 18 after 9pm, we will take that person into the police station. Unless that person is with a guardian supervising him or her on the street. So we are now going to hold the parents accountable. Because we have this propensity of going out there blaming the government, blaming the police for crime, when in fact sometime we fail to look at the root cause of crime which is in our own home - the way we supervise our children."

"So, as it relates to that, I am looking at the families and children's act and if a child is shot or injured on a street after 9pm in the night, I will see if there is anything we can do to charge the parent for either child neglect or exposing the child to grievous harm and I believe the families and children act provide for that."

Jules Vasquez
"Sir it sounds like you want to implement a curfew."

Sr. Supt Chester Williams
"It might sound like a curfew, but I will not say it's a curfew. I am just asking parents to be responsible parents. If you are not responsible then we are going to hold you accountable."

We caught up with Williams when he was walking in the area between Jane Usher Boulevard and Freedom Street - which is one of the most hotly contested gang turfs. At least three rival crews are fighting for territory within just a few blocks - a volatile situation that has led to 6 murders or attempted murders in the last 9 months. It's one of those crime hotspots that police have been unable to cool down. Today, on the community cop beat, Williams says he thinks he has the solution:..

Sr. Supt Chester Williams, OC - E.D. Southside
"We want the people in this area to be able to feel safe in their homes just as other persons across the city. We know it's a difficult task because of the current rivalry between the gangs in the area, but we are trying to work with them and see how best we could help them address the situation just as we did with those in the Mayflower area. Like you have rightly mentioned yes, it's a hotspot and like any other hotspots I believe that we can infiltrate the different groups and see how best we could assist them to try and set aside their personal differences."

Jules Vasquez
"Do you all really know what's happening back here? Who are the players and who are beefing with who and why?"

Sr. Supt Chester Williams
"I can tell you clearly yes that I have a full appreciation of what is taking place on Southside Belize City, particularly in Jane Usher and Freedom Street, Gill Street and Caesar Ridge Road and it is based on those credible information that I have obtained, why I am doing what I am doing to see how best I can use my influence to help these young people try to make a positive difference in their lives."

Jules Vasquez
"Will you be speaking directly with the combatants in the gang war?"

Sr. Supt Chester Williams
"Yes, I am making arrangements to speak with them and I can tell you Jules that the people are coming along. They are respecting the police. I could make a phone call, I can call the different leaders and tell them I want to see them and they will come. I don't have to send for them or have the police brutalize them or beat them to bring them. We have develop that level of communication, level of respect for each other. Because one of the main reasons why sometimes things continue happen is because these young people doesn't have trust and confidence in the police. So I am hoping that we can get to that stage where, if they have an issue, if they have a pressing issue with another rival gang, they can call me and I can get involved, we can intervene and see how we could mediate between the two parties and we could have them set aside their personal differences."

Jules Vasquez
"Now sir, are you re-inventing the wheel for your own self-aggrandizement? It's a tough question, but it's real. Because CYDP, it does mediation, it does outreach. We know about Sticks, his days of healing - he does interventions in the community. Now, you have entered into Southside as the commander for this formation, but are you saying you will invent the solution for all the gang rivalries on the Southside?"

Sr. Supt Chester Williams
"It's not a matter of inventing the solutions. As you have rightly said, there were things in place already. What I am basically doing is look at what was already in place and see how I can build on it. I have nothing to gain from this. I am sent to Belize City to take over Southside, which you have rightly said before, it's the hottest part of the country and when I came Belize City was bleeding. Almost every night we have shootings, people dying and my thing was to hit the ground running. To see what it is I can do to try and reduce the crime situation and I must say that over the past 3 weeks going to a month that I have been on the ground in Belize City, I am seeing the results of the effort that I am putting in. So, it is not a matter about any self - trying to fulfil my own self agenda. I have nothing to achieve from this - but to see that these young people get a chance for life. They can be here with their loved one and do not have mothers on the TV crying every day because they have lost a loved one."

Jules Vasquez
"However, you do have to gain because it would certainly seem that maybe you are profiling a little bit, in so far as you are an ambitious man - you are highly trained person, you could someday lead the police department in Belize and if you can solve the problems of Southside crime or mitigate crime on the Southside, then you will be in prime position to someday be a very young commissioner of police."

Sr. Supt Chester Williams
"Well I am not going to say no, like you have rightly said I am an ambitious man and if would be in the police department and do not have the aspiration to one day be the commissioner of police, then I would be wasting my time. But for the time being we have a commissioner in the person of Mr. Whylie and I believe he is doing a very good job and I support the commissioner 110%."

Williams says that next week, the community visits will be bolstered by participation of staff from the city council - who will be looking at empty lots, garbage and other neighborhood problems.

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