Photo: Some graduates and trainers of the Weapons and Ammunition Management training (pic courtesy: MAG Caribbean)

by Kristen Ku

BELIZE CITY, Mon. Jan. 22, 2024

On Friday, January 19, some 23 security force members – from the Belize Police Department (BPD), the Belize Defence Force (BDF), and the Belize Coast Guard (BCG) – celebrated their graduation from a week-long training program in Weapons and Ammunition Management.

This training was conducted in collaboration between the BPD and CARICOM Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS) and Mines Advisory Group (MAG) in response to an early 2023 assessment of the state of armories and ammunition stores in Belize.

“The training last week focused on the best or minimum standards for armories, from the locks down to the security cameras, and who has access, and having logs of everything inside, from the armory to the shelving within the armory. They also learned the proper transportation of firearms and ammunition,” detailed Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Bart Jones.

This training equips the graduates to inspect various ammunition stores, including those of the BDF, police, and customs officers, and recommend necessary adjustments. It also provides access to online resources for further knowledge enhancement.

A crucial aspect of the training is ensuring that government-owned firearms and those recovered off the street are securely stored to prevent re-entry into criminal hands.

“It lessens the instances or potential for firearms ending up in the hands of criminals or having unintended explosions, meaning that the firearm goes off or [if] somebody [is] playing with the firearm,” Jones explained.

In line with this, CARICOM IMPACS, MAGS, and Belize State Authorities have begun collaborating to destroy unsafe weapons and ammunition and enhance the physical security of armories.

DCP Jones explained, “So the idea is to properly destroy them so that there is no way that they could be reassembled and no part could be [used]. So that’s why we have the expert’s supervision, and the guys who were on the training last week are learning so that they will know how to do it properly on the next occasion.”

When asked about the fate of weapon parts post-destruction, Jones clarified, “I assure you that it is being done in such a way that none of the parts are usable at the end; so, no spring, no barrel, nothing can be used again.”