By Mike Campbell
The crime situation in Belize
has escalated to the point where it
has become the major topic in many
conversations and personal safety
has become a prime concern for
many. Crime prevention, detection
and successful prosecution require
close cooperation between welltrained
police officers and the community
they serve. The community
must trust the police to be honest
and fair and the police must trust
the community to be supportive and
helpful. The cooperation between
police and the community and the
level of training of the police officers
are the two most important factors
in the effective policing of the community.
Throughout the Nation there is
a distinct disconnect between the
community and the police. This is
true in spite of the obvious fact that
the police are paid by the taxes of the
community to provide protection
and order necessary in a Civil Society.
Police activities, or lack of, often
form the butt of jokes by children
and teens who let their disrespect
be known at an early age. Indeed
respect must be earned and it is difficult
for a parent to instill respect
for the law when it is sometimes difficult
to respect those who are paid
to enforce it. This is truly a serious
problem and is no longer a laughing
matter.
To move forward we must admit
the obvious fact that the Belize Police
Force in its present form is not
capable of dealing with the rampant
violent crime that is shaking the very
foundations of our Nation. Conviction
rates are abysmal and escapes
from custody are common. The
community has lost faith in the police
to protect them from the worst
elements of our society as they are
paid to do. Crime is a community
problem and can only be dealt with
by the community. The root of this
problem lies within the very preconceptions
that have formed police
policy and organization for all these
years. We have never grown from a
colonial police force to a community-
based police force. The Belize
Police Force is an extension of the
colonial system where the Governor
retained all power and communities
were not allowed to police themselves
furthering their dependence
on the colonial government and
making them much easier to control.
Our very small population was
also a major factor.
This structure and long established
policies in the police force are
primarily responsible for the disconnect
between the police and those
they are paid to serve and protect.
Without effective cooperation between
community and police crime
control will never be possible. The
long established policy of rotating
officers around the country has been
our downfall. The preconception
was that officers would become corrupted
if allowed to stay in one place
for too long. Of course this assumes
that both the officers and the community
they serve are basically dishonest.
That should never be a problem
with a well-trained officer.
Our police are never from the
community they are assigned to and
are usually forced to live in substandard
conditions. Having no real ties
to the community they are regarded
as outsiders and do not receive the
full cooperation of the community
they serve. Knowing they will be
transferred in a few years there is no
motivation to help the community
and further they have no apparent
responsibility for their actions to
the community, only to the chain
of command. The result is that the
community does not trust the police
and the police do not show respect
for the community. They are trained
to resist attempts at friendship with
residents as it makes them supposedly
more susceptible to corruption.
The result is an unmotivated
improperly trained police force that
receives little support from the public
in general. This antagonistic relationship
between police and community
is exploited by the criminal
element.
The police must be part of the
community as well as answerable
to the community they serve in order
to be effective. Police from top
to bottom should be hired and fired
by the particular community they
serve based on their performance.
We should have complete say as to
who is policing our community and
if they do not perform they must be
replaced. Becoming a police officer
is a commitment to the community.
A police officer should love his community
and regard the job as a permanent
position. Ideally they will
share the love of community that we
all have and be motivated to do the
best job. We have no opportunity to
vet our police and know little about
who is policing us. Officers who get
in trouble in one way or the other
are simply shuffled around to various
unsuspecting communities often
with tragic results. Whose fault
is that?
If the police were answerable
directly to the people of the communities
they serve we would all be
able to work together and bring our
crime epidemic under control. The
infection has spread from Belize City
to infect all the towns. Our elected
community leaders do not have the
power to demand performance from
our police even though it is our money
that pays them. This is an unacceptable
situation. The trips from
Belmopan by various senior police,
meetings with the various business
groups and marches against crime
are ineffective in an ever-widening
spiral of violence. Starch, polish
and posturing will not win the war.
We need well-trained, well paid, law
enforcement professionals working
directly with the community.
I notice one of the San Pedro
neighborhood watches has hired
armed guards and they are proving
effective. If we cannot control our
own police in the future all the neighborhood
watches will employ armed
guards for their neighborhoods. The
next step will be untrained militias
and private police forces. It is much
better that we take control of our
police and take back our towns and
country from the criminal elements
who are attacking our society with
impunity.
Any thought that we are not capable
of or responsible enough to
handle our own police without help
from Belmopan is ridiculous. Belmopan
cannot control crime within
the police force, much less our crime
epidemic. The buck in the towns
should stop at the Chief Police Officer
and the Mayor and all police
officers should be hired by the community
they serve. If the Chief cannot
perform or control his officers
we must replace him and anyone
else that is not giving 100% in our
fight against crime. Under this system
of community policing, police
brutality would be rare and crooked
cops would be dealt with quickly. We
should not be taking direction from
Belmopan as to how to proceed in
our individual communities. There
are many differences in our individual
communities that necessitate
different approaches to achieve effective
law enforcement.
Our leaders have proven unable
to meet the crisis and we the people
of Belize must step up to the plate
and take responsibility for our own
security. It is time we fought back.
I am confident we can do a much
better job of managing our security
than those currently charged with
that task. As it is criminals laugh at
the police and the courts and whose
fault is that? Without dramatic
changes we will not move forward.
The Independent