CAYE CAULKER, Belize District, Mon. June 15, 2015–Inspector Dehanne Augustine, commander of the National Community Policing, is now the new police commander of Caye Caulker. The announcement was made by the police high command on Friday.

Inspector Augustine took over on Friday, and the deputy commander is veteran sergeant Norman “Bregal” Benguche.

Inspector Augustine has spearheaded many community policing initiatives and came to prominence while spearheading the GREAT (Gang Resistance Education and Training) Program, and also the Do the Right Thing Program, among other programs that have been implemented nationally.

In an interview this morning at the Queen Street Police Station, Douglas Hyde, director of communications at the Eastern Division Police Headquarters, told the media that Inspector Augustine took up the leadership post with a vast knowledge of community policing, and the residents of Caye Caulker can expect a major change in the policing of the village.

They can expect village meetings, as well as other forms of dialogue and interaction between the police and the community, he noted. They can also expect that they will play active roles in the policing of the village, he further said. The commander also said that the Citizens on Patrol and the Special Constable Programs will be resurrected and actively implemented, within one month of his taking office.

Hyde said that also, the police station will be transformed, so that it can be more people-friendly, and members of the public can feel comfortable when they visit the station.

Hyde said that the Commissioner of Police and the police high command have vowed to do better and improve the police service to the village, and to be more professional in their duties.