"Rogue cops!" screamed the news on Thursday 2nd April 2010.
The Prime Minister at a hurriedly called press conference claimed that they had irrefutable evidence that a "gang of rogue police officers" were committing a spate of crimes in different parts of the country including the robbery of Scotia Bank in Spanish Lookout, Cayo. The Prime Minister further claimed that other police officers were already arrested with more arrests to follow.
The following week on Tuesday April 4, 2010, Belizeans found out that the Prime Minister misspoke or as some would say, put his foot in his mouth! Detective Constable Mangar was taken to court and given a much lesser charge than that of a criminal mastermind – a charge which suggests only that he was involved in planning a crime which was never committed.
To confuse matters even more, a press release from the Police Department stated that "P.C. Mangar was a possible suspect" but when the Acting Press Officer Sgt. Fritzroy Yearwood was asked by the press, he said "no", P.C. Mangar was not involved in the Scotia Bank robbery. Senior Superintendent Paul Wade from Cayo also stated the P.C. Mangar was not involved in the Scotia Bank robbery.
So who is telling the truth? Is it the Prime Minister and those top officials in the Police Department? Is the brief from the Acting Press Officer wrong? Is the Officer in charge in Cayo, a Senior Superintendent of Police and the man leading the investigation of the Scotia Bank hold up, wrong? While Belizeans may not know at the moment, they unanimously agree that something has gone terribly wrong in the Belize Police Department.
The relationship between the Police Department and the public has never been ideal; Belizeans have complained about police brutality, police soliciting bribes, or police officers being just lazy and sloppy in their work.
Unfortunately over the last year and a half Belizeans have become more alarmed at the level of unprofessionalism in the Police Department. Of late there have been many more reports and accusations against the police; at the same time, there is this feeling that crime is getting completely out of control.
In August 2008, I made a statement in the National Assembly alerting the government about the crime situation. We as the opposition made it absolutely clear that this was not a political issue and we in the PUP were willing to help. We pointed out that there was a lack of leadership from within the Ministry of National Security and made ten suggestions which could be arranged into three areas: strengthening the police department, strengthening the prosecution branch and strengthening our fight against poverty.
Unfortunately Minister Carlos Perdomo, the Minister of National Security's reaction was at best childish. Instead of listening, he attacked, he took none of our suggestions seriously and instead he issued personal attacks and made references to Orange Walk as "Rambotown".
Despite all the press conferences and changes within his ministry, Minister Perdomo continues to fail miserably. He changed his CEO, replaced his Police Commissioner and moved people all over the place. All this and still we have seen no improvement.
They brought in Mr. Harold Crooks to do a thorough review of the Police Department and make recommendations. Mr. Crooks, who is now a fugitive in Jamaica, made 167 recommendations, and a panel was assembled to look after the implementation. To date no one can tell you whether any of these recommendations were effective.
The appointment of Mr. Crispin Jefferies as the new head of the police department came as a surprise to many, since Mr. Jeffries was near retirement. Commissioner Jeffries is known as a man of little words and much action. During the protest marches against the PUP government, he was the go to man. He was the man who did his best to keep law and order even at the point of endangering his life. While many questioned his style of policing, no one questioned his commitment to the police department. Jeffries, people say, is best on the ground; he is one of the nation's top operations man. His job as Commissioner is not an easy one.
The Belizean people have lost confidence in the Police Department; the situation is made worse when you hear stories of police brutality, "killer cops", police protecting "drug lords" and corrupt cops.
Each day many good police officers put their lives on the line to serve and protect Belizeans and we are grateful for their service. We stand with those honourable men and women.
It is clear that the Police Department needs a new Minister and new leadership from outside the department to reorganize and strengthen the institution. The next time the Prime Minister calls a press conference to discuss crime let us hope he get the facts right and provides a formula for meaningful results.
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Source: The Belize Times
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