Belize Institute of Public Safety and Security is launched

In the fight against crime, every bit helps. A new organization was launched today that intends to help find solutions to tackle the rampant crime. It's the Belize Institute of Public Safety and Security and its board is made up of retired professionals who have decades of service in security issues. They include former Commissioner of Police, Crispin Jeffries; Colonel Glen Arthurs, Maritime Major Gilbert Swaso; Major Lewis Escobar, former Chief of Operations at the National Fire Service, Michael Middleton and former Airport Chief of Security, Herman Blease. At the launch today, Jeffries told News Five what the institute hopes to achieve.

Crispin Jeffries, Board Member, Belize Institute of Public Safety and Security

"The concept was developed some years ago that we believe that there’s a lot of expertise out there and the institute was developed with a view to use this expertise to try and help the private sector and the public sector in dealing with issues of crime and public safety."

Delahnie Bain

"And how will you be doing that?"

Crisping Jeffries

Crisping Jeffries

"Well, the objective is to provide training, provide as much training but to bring people together and to make recommendations to organizations and government as it relates to public safety. The whole issue of crime and the impact; when we look at geographics and demographics and the scientific aspects of crime fighting, those are the areas that we want to take a look at. What are we doing to improve that or what is the country doing to improve on public safety and citizen security? This organization will definitely need to generate some money so it will be providing training. So that is one aspect of it. But also we are expecting to do other things; to do public outreach, education campaigns, we will support things like neighborhood watch groups; anything that has to do with-you want us to speak on an issue, we will invite persons with the expertise to speak on safety. I mean, we may be looking at crime but there are other safety. We have people on the committee that deals with maritime safety. We are a country with waterways, we are a country with wet and dry season, we are a country with dry weather, with hurricanes, we have storms. So there’s that level of expertise that is coming and is available and we will bring it to the fore whenever it is needed and liaise with other organizations to ensure that we can provide and give back some of what we have acquire at the expense of government and the populace of taxpayers' money to try and provide it back to the people to see how we can continue to foster the kind of relationship that needs to be developed."

Jeffries says the Police Department will also play a key role in the Institute's work by providing information such as crime statistics.

Channel 5