Photo: Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
The decision was made following reports of under-the-table sales of gun licenses by certain individuals within the Police Department.
by Marco Lopez
BELIZE CITY, Thurs. July 6, 2023
The Cabinet announced in its brief this morning that the establishment of a Firearms and Ammunition Control Board has been considered and approved. This will result in a restructuring of the gun license regime, including a shift in the gun license vetting process, which will no longer be carried out by the Police Department, with the Commissioner of Police having the final say, but by the newly created board, which will have full control over that process. Reports of an alleged black market for gun licenses in Belize—with even persons with a criminal record being able to access licenses within a short period of time after making under-the-table payments to certain members of the Police Department—have led to the increased scrutiny of the Belize Police Department and Commissioner Chester Williams.
Gun licenses have reportedly been granted to gang figures and individuals with criminal records, as well as persons suspected of being underworld figures, such as Marybeth Wade, who was the girlfriend of the deceased gang figure “Tanga”, according to a 7News report.
Commissioner Williams, who currently has the final say in applications for gun licenses, has distanced himself from any involvement in the sale of gun licenses, instead blaming the individuals and police officers purportedly involved in that act.
Nonetheless, the Government of Belize has decided to establish a new Firearms and Ammunition Control Board, which, according to the Cabinet Brief, will “receive, consider, and process firearm applications.”
The board will have the responsibility to put in place regulations and criteria for the approval of firearms licensing, “including training and certification of license holders.”
The board will also be involved in the development plan for digitizing the firearm and ammunition licensing system, to replace the archaic manual system still being used by the Police Department.
While Commissioner Williams has denied any involvement in the alleged gun license black market, he also indicated that a licensing board might not be the ultimate solution to the problem.
“There is nothing in life that is foolproof,” Williams explained. “Even the US Embassy visas that they go through so many things to issue; even those people fabricate. Everything you do, there is always a risk that something will go wrong, or someone is going to find a way to circumvent that process, and you have to expect that. Even if the gun licenses were now managed by a board, would you feel that it would make a difference? Jamaica went to a board, and even in Jamaica gun licenses are being issued to persons that are not supposed to get gun licenses, and the police are having issues with that. So, no matter what we do, it’s going to be a perennial problem that we have to deal with as a society,” Commissioner Williams said.
The now-approved Firearms and Ammunition Control Board will require legislation to be passed in Parliament to become operational.