7 News Belize

325 Arrests, Police Say Quality of Life Arrests Paying Peace Dividend
posted (July 28, 2014)
For the past 2 weeks, we've been telling you about the police crackdown on the quality of life crimes in Belize City. It's caused major inconveniences to residents of the city, who claim police harassment and uneven application of the law. But, the high command of the Eastern Division told the media today that they make no apologies for the crackdown.

They says that they've made 325 arrests for these petty offenses, and 225 have been completed in the court with convictions and fines. More importantly, police say that the targeting of persons committing these crimes has helped to get gang violence under control. Here's how they explained why:

Sr. Supt. Edward Broaster, Dep. O.C., Eastern Division
"We continue our stop and searches as well as our enforcement of stop and searches as well as the enforcement of bicycle offences, loitering, public drinking and so forth. And over the past 3 weeks, we've made approximately over 325 arrests of which 225 of those have concluded in our courts. Now, we are quite aware of the controversy being spun around in the media and we want to assure the general public that the Quality of Life Enforcement is working. When there is no scout, have no doubt, lives are being saved. We have young men who loiter at corners who ride bicycles, who scout for victims and call in "shottas" for them to come in and take out individuals and our enforcement has been reducing shooting incidents in the city and we will continue to press this Quality of Life Enforcement and we will ensure that we do everything in our power to ensure that the citizens can move about this city safely and freely without harmed being caused to them. So we want to assure the public to do the right thing and continue to cooperate with us and call when they see crimes occurring and call when they see guns being stashed and what have you and we will ensure that we protect you as best as possible that we are able to with your cooperation."

ACP Dezerie Phillips, O.C., Eastern Division
"I want to make it very clear that police officers themselves who contravene any of these Quality of Life offences that we are embarking on, anyone caught, they will also be dealt with."

As we showed you last week, there has been a rush by the Belize City riders to comply with these laws, and so bells and lights have been flying off the shelves. But, as they say, haste makes waste, and police are warning that even though you may have bought your light, if it's not a white one, and it can't attach to the bike, you're still breaking the law:

Supt. Alford Grinage, Officer Commanding, Precinct 2, Belize City Police
"Since we intensify our efforts we notice that the public they began getting lights and bells, but the type of lights they are getting may not be the correct lights. They are getting lights with all different colors, like Christmas lights and this is not that. It must be white light affixed to the bicycle - that's the law. So it's not just matter of just getting any blinkers and try to say that that's a light and using a flashlight in their hands also - that is not it. It must be a white light affixed to the handle of the bicycle along with the bell."

Some Belize City riders have complained that police should have given the public due warning to get their bikes ready, instead of bringing the pressure so quickly. Police say that while that may be a fair criticism, the biking public ought to have known that these offences are on the books, and that they should have been complying a long time ago:

Supt. Alford Grinage
"The law is basically there. It has always been there and the police was the one to do their job and really enforced these quality of life offences. Now that it was not being targeted that much, the public now believe that it's normal to do certain things and yes I agree that we could have did it a little more by alerting the public, but it's there, it's in the books that we should follow."

Eastern Division's Police Commanders say that the quality of life crackdown will continue, and they're asking the public to comply with all the laws.

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