On the news last night, Police Minister John Saldivar spoke about the stepped up police operations that have been launched in the wake of the weekend's seismic criminal events.
His presentation sounded to us kind of like Returning Again to the Same Solution and so, Saldivar and Commissioner David Henderson took out the media yesterday evening to show them the Static and roving vehicle check points and what they are calling a security corridor along Central American Boulevard and Princess Margret Drive.
Sounds impressive, but how did it look on the ground? Monica Bodden was out last night observing - and she has this report:..
Monica Bodden reporting
You may have noticed a boost in police presence on the ground in the city.
Well that is because there are roughly 7 checkpoints around town and at least 2-3 armed officers deployed in every area of interest. This should be continued for at least 2 weeks.
David Henderson - Acting Commissioner of Police
"We have at least 7 different check points within the city and then we have personnel deploy at all the noted areas or areas of interest where the gangs are likely to operate."
Monica Bodden
"These check-points will be going on for the rest of the week?"
David Henderson - Acting Commissioner of Police
"We will try to sustain it as long as possible until we could really get the crime into a controllable level."
The media was invited on a city tour yesterday evening - to join Minister of Security - Hon. John Saldivar and the acting commissioner.
As we made our way around to the various checkpoints and areas of concerns - our main objective was to see just how effective these ground operations are - which are costing the department tens of thousands of dollars to establish and maintain.
We must say, the massive police increase on the streets, does seem to create a sense of security for city residents - as we noticed life in the old capital was coming back to normal after a nerve wracking weekend.
Commissioner Henderson discussed the purpose of the ground operation.
David Henderson - Acting Commissioner of Police
"To show the media the police operation - what we are trying to achieve from this is to really close the area to contain the criminal and if there is any incident that we are able to respond quickly and deal with it as the case might be."
"By having the different check points it would make life much more difficult for them to move around the city because where ever you turn you would ran into security forces."
And while the police are doing their share, they are asking for everyone to join in the effort.
David Henderson - Acting Commissioner of Police
"We would like to ask the public to bear with us - to really give us full support because the police cannot really do it by itself, we need the community support and with the community support I am quite sure that we could definitely make Belize a much more safer place for everyone to live in. We need to work together in order to achieve our goal."
According to an official release, the measures have been in place from 4:00 pm yesterday.
Check points are up throughout the City, at Hattieville, mile 4 on the Western highway, Boom junction and at the Manatee lookout area on the Northern highway.
Check Points are also up at the River crossings at Belcan and Bel China with lookout points at the approaches to the Swing Bridge.
And the so-called security Corridor runs from the Esso Depot on Central American Boulevard to the UB Campus in Button Wood Bay where ATV's are assigned to patrol the area to ensure that Students and Workers can move freely.
Additionally, over forty (40) BDF Soldiers were sworn in as Special Constables.
Key choke areas are manned especially in the vicinity of George Street, Taylors Alley, Rocky Road and MayFlower Street.
To deal with the checkpoints, motorists are asked to have a valid driving license handy.
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