REPORT #116 Oct 1999
ARE BELMOPAN POLICE WHO STAY SILENT WHEN CO-WORKERS TORTURE AND MURDER VICTIMS IN THE JAIL GUILTY AS ACCESSORIES TO MURDER IN BELIZEAN LAW?


Produced by the Belize Development Trust

The Reporter articles these past couple of weeks, allege more or less that two persons have been murdered by Belmopan police staff while in custody over the last month. The article does not mention the torture when seeking culprits for the highway banditry some time ago.

Three police have been detained. It does not say arrested. I don't know how many police are in the Belmopan station, but it would be somewhat ridiculous if the other members of the station staff did not know the truth. In USA law this would make the silent police wall, accomplices in murder and the whole Belmopan police staff should be arrested and charged as accessories. Under Belize and British common law, I do not even know if there is an accessory law?

The question arises. What protection does a police officer have in a national autonomous police force framework, if he wants to tell all? Can other police squeal on his superiors, his comrades who he knows are guilty, without fear of retribution? How can you overcome the intimidation and fear of a police constable, who knows which murderers are protected, or guilty of malfeansce? Can you make laws that threaten such punishment for not telling, that the fear of the law and penalties would be more than fear of brutal gangs of thugs under Inspectors in the police national system? Would the penalty by law for keeping silent, or thus aiding and abetting unlawful police gangs be considered worse than fear of the thugs? It works in some places. But I don't think we have accessory to murder laws in Belize, if you know, or witness and fail to tell on your co-workers or superiors in the Belize Police Force. Should the police force be weighed by a civilian complaints board? We have brought this up many times.

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