Today, over 160 officer within the Police Department got a promotion to a higher rank. It’s been in the works for months now, and we’ll get to the process that the Department used to assess which officers were eligible for promotions and which ones weren’t.
But, first, we take you to a section of the Commissioner of Police’s Speech in which he announced that 10 officers were promoted because of great police work:
Allen Whylie - Commissioner of Police
"I want to also mention that of all the officers here, there were also 10 officers, who were given special promotion by the commissioner of police after consultation with our senior officers that make up the policy board. 3 of those officers were promoted due to heroism, the acts of bravery that we consider to be heroism. One of them was involved with an assailant after a robbery had taken place in a banking institution here in Belmopan, he single-handedly caught the robber, he was injured in the process, the robber was injured in the process, we have 2 others from Belize City who like wise going about their duties witness a shooting, they responded fearlessly, pursued the shooter, located him, recovered the weapon, identified him, he was arrested and charged, he pleaded guilty to some of the charges, the victim died, the charge has been upgraded, just last month the preliminary inquiry cause to that matter was submitted and it has been sent up to the Supreme Court. There are 7 other officers who are being promoted due to their, what we consider dedication to duty, they are always there, they are always performing to their maximum, and I make no apologies for promoting these officers, we have got to encourage people to be professional throughout their tour of duty and their time and to do the best "
Hon. John Saldivar – Minister of National Security
"And while it is easy to judge the department by perceptions, perceptions largely created by a media, hungry for news, it is so easy for one to judge, it is not fair to judge the department on notions and emotions. The department should be judged by statistics, the department must be judged objectively. Over this past 6 months for instance, a statistic not brought out in the news is that though we have seen a spike in shootings and murders in Belize City of recent, Belize City is still, 14 murders lower than our statistics from last year, and last year was our best year, so Belize City is still doing better than we did last year."
After the ceremony, we got a side bar interview with the Commissioner and he discussed the assessments which led to these officers being promoted today.
Allen Whylie - Commissioner of Police
"Instructions went out in our departmental orders of 2013, that we would be having promotions, a date was set for the promotions, a syllabus was published, person were invited to apply, those who were eligible internal process took place where each officer's personal file was checked, and once they have met the criteria, then a notice was published in the departmental orders as to who were eligible. Those who were ineligible were also informed that they were ineligible, some were ineligible either because they did not have the years or service or they have been convicted of some disciplinary infraction over past 12 months."
Mike Rudon - Channel 5 News
"Sir could you tell us how many officers were promoted today."
Allen Whylie - Commissioner of Police
"I think it is 166 officers from the level of deputy commissioner which is the second highest rank in the department up to the rank of corporal which is the first elevation within the department, so all levels we've had officers promoted, every unit of the Belize Police Department had some officer or officers so where promoted."
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