Friday was international women's day and March is being observed as women's month. And today the police department took time out to honour its female personnel.
250 Officers, civilian staff and special constables attended an all day event at the Princess, where the "W's" got some motivational speeches, a nice lunch, and after that, a chance to kick back poolside.
And while that's all fine and good, the other side of that story is that 50 years after the police department took in its first female recruit, there are only 13 females above the rank of sergeant, and in many cases police women are relegated to clerical duties and rarely see the frontline.
But, today, the talk was all about changing that - and pushing for, what else? - the COMPOL's job:
Yolanda Murry - First Woman Officer
"Well, it is really to get our women together. This has been occurring for the past 10 years - basically 10 years by Mrs. Leslie, Mrs. Leslie and me. We originally started this 1-year seminar with women because we are scattered all over the country, and at least, we want to have 1 day of the year that we can come together as women, and we can bring matters to the forefront that we believe that we need to be addressed, and also to hear from them, not just to address them; but to hear from them and for us to fellowship with one another as women officers, working in this really male dominated field. We want to get females out more from around the desk, and even the commissioner; in his address, is seeking to do that. We can put civilians in many of the post where the women are now working. So that is our main issue today, to have our women more in the forefront so that we can encourage more educated females to join the police department also."
Reporter
"Do you think we're any where closer in time, that we could actually see one day the first female police commissioner, or is that farfetched?"
Yolanda Murry
"No, nothing is farfetched as far as I'm concerned. Back in my days, we thought that there would never be a woman officer, or that's the way - I would say the people in Belize were thinking that, and the Police Department, because the woman could have only gone to the rank of a sergeant. But I have made a difference where I became the first woman officer to be in the police rank. From there, it went on where we had a woman deputy commissioner in the person of Mrs. Maurine Leslie, who is also now retired. We have officers who are coming up; we have senior superintendents, superintendents, we have inspector and defiantly I would want to see - and we can defiantly see some of these women push on to become the first commissioner of police."
Anne Marie Williams - Motivational Speaker
"We took 42 years; from 1963 until 2005 for the force to have a deputy commissioner woman, and I am saying that 50 years on there's not been another Deputy Commissioner let alone a Commissioner. These structural barriers that exist within the force, that tend to keep women back from advancing, will not be changed by men. It will be changed by women's hard work, their dedication and their will to make things better. I look at a lot of the male officers, and it seems like it doesn't dawn on them that this whole issue of gang rivalry, welfare and just keeping the peace in neighborhoods, these must be bridged by women. Women know the suffering. Women know exactly what is taking place and all their interventions so far, has not been successful with the men, so you have to try another method. I feel women, they have the answers."
Sr. Supt Louise Willis - Commander, Community Policing
"These women are dynamic; we have so much wealth, so much knowledge in the Police Department. As you can see these ladies are inspired right now."
The event also included a presentation on the Belize Guatemala dispute.
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