June 9, 2008
Dear Editor,
I believe that without a secure police force, Hopkins will no longer be a safe place to live, vacation, invest in or start a business.
We must have reliable police protection. We must address this issue. Crime is increasing in Hopkins.
Ten years ago, when I did my research about Belize, I came across a friendly village that was “crime free.” I believed it to be, as I rented a small house and lived there for several months before purchasing a piece of beach front property, where I built a small inn and restaurant to accommodate tourists and make a moderate living.
As the years have gone by, I saw simple “petty thieving” as a normal of life. If one had 4 hammers, it was “OK” to take one because the person had too many. I accepted it with a grudge, but got over it.
Now that our village has grown, the children have grown into young adults who need work. There are not enough jobs. Their future seemed bright with the high-end resorts coming to Hopkins. They believed it would supply jobs for the Hopkins’ youth. A great opportunity was in the future.
These youth were misguided and greatly disappointed. No villagers were employed by this multimillion-dollar company, as the tourists arrived in force. Million dollars worth of equipment, supplies, wood, cement PVC piping and wiring were used. The future, they believed, would be secured with this growth of tourism, with them being employed. They all know how to chop, cut wood, and plumb. They were highly disappointed. 150 outside help was employed; not one from Hopkins, not contributing to the need of the employment situation of Hopkins village.
These youth are in need of money, as they have started families at a young age. Many have taken to selling drugs to help their incomes. It seems to be the only way they can survive; with no job opportunities, they are selling drugs to some employers of the high end resorts every pay day.
This is a fact. I know this, as many have asked me to employ them, as they do not want to sell drugs. They want real jobs to be proud of and have their families to feel proud that they have a full-time job in a fine position in a high end resort.
I have seen the crime rate escalate due to drugs in the neighbourhood. I have had several arrested because they were stealing not just from me, but other resorts, the locals, established businesses, and their own families to support their drug habits.
The issue needs to be brought to the media that Hopkins needs policemen, not a lone police officer. I had made a horrible mistake calling that one fine policeman “incompetent” because he could not handle the increasing crime situation. I see I was wrong, because it was, and is impossible to facilitate every matter, no matter how urgent, or life-threatening, by himself. Crime is still being committed when he needs to sleep, he needs to eat, needs a break, and he needs to heal when he is sick. It is clear to me now he is trying his best all alone. He cannot stop crime single-handedly.
Then there is the Dangriga issue. Why is the Hopkins policeman always needed in Dangriga? Our policeman always spends more time out of the village than here in the village. Why is no one here to take his place when our village is still with crime? The fact that there is no policeman gives the criminals so many opportunities to commit crimes. There is no police vehicle to patrol the neighbourhood, and when the police do not use their own vehicle, they must have a gas allowance and a maintenance allowance for the upkeep of their vehicle.
A handgun, a set of handcuffs, and bullet-proof vests are needed. Jobs are needed; why not employ more police? Create jobs for the youth. Use the government money properly; less money for the politicians to put in their pockets.
It is not fair to the villagers and the new investors and the old expatriates who invested here that the policeman for Hopkins spends more time in Dangriga than he is in Hopkins. It is not fair that he has no backup in any emergency. He should have a vehicle that works and a cell phone that is paid for by the government.
Money should be budgeted so that the police can make an outside call when the victims needs to be called back in emergency situations, and were promised that police were on their way. They never showed, they never called to say no one was coming, or had a legitimate reason for the false security they gave that they were on their way.
Why? So many times I had to call the inspector, who finally got a police officer to come to investigate and take a report. I have sent many guests to Dangriga to give a report. The victims never saw or experienced such unprofessional authority figures behaving so incompetently, making them feel insecure and rather angry.
It is also a waste of their valuable vacation time. Most of the time, the police do not even have a piece of paper or pen to take the written report. So many times nothing was ever done to bring justice to the guests or me, the victims, even when we request that the matter be taken to court.
Government needs to know that no matter how hard the policeman tries, he cannot do it all by himself. We need a police force to back him up.
I hope that this article will shed light on the darkness of crime here. This might sound like a rude request, but the situation needs to be addressed really quickly.
A concerned citizen