_{Photo: Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police}

by Charles Gladden

BELIZE CITY, Fri. Sept. 20, 2024

On June 24, a State of Emergency (SOE) was declared for the second time this year by the Belize Police Department—with the targeted areas being the south and north sides of Belize City, as well as the Roaring Creek and Cotton Tree villages in the Cayo District.

The initial SOE came into effect as a result of a spate of murders that occurred in the Lake Independence area along with other parts of Belize City. Since it was activated in June, there have been 6 murders in those respective areas that the SOE covers – 4 of which occurred in Belize City.

Initially, the SOE was set to last for only 30 days; however, in July it was extended to 60 days, leading us to where we are in the final days of September. When the media met with Commissioner of Police, Chester Williams, on Thursday, September 19, he told local reporters that proposals for extending the SOE had been placed on the table, but had not been finalized.

“I met with the people under the SOE two days ago, and I have laid the cards on the table for them. They all said that they wanted this gang issue to stop. They want to be released and come home to their families; and I said to them, if they can see how peaceful the country has been since they were detained, it simply goes to show that they were the problem. They conceded to that, and pledged that coming out of prison, if the SOE is not extended, they will work with the programs that we have in place,” he said.

“I said to them, the same way you all can live together in prison, why can’t you live this way when you’re out on the streets? You don’t need to be in prison to live this way. And they agreed. But the important thing, I said to them, was that, since you so want to change your life, you don’t want to go back to the gang life you used to live, you don’t want to go back to the shooting and killing of others, then surrender your guns; you don’t need it. You’re no longer a gang member; surrender your guns. They agreed that they’re going to surrender their guns, so we’ll see how that goes,” ComPol Williams further mentioned.

By the time this article is published, the SOE would have been lifted, if not extended, possibly resulting in an estimated 130 detainees being sent to their respective homes. Nonetheless, those who have been locked up in prison are a fraction of the troublemakers, as a number of minors who have been associated with these gang members are the foot soldiers who have been allegedly committing many heinous crimes.

“I am hoping that they would have seen what took place with those who are in prison, and learned from that,” COMPOL Williams said.