Commissioner of Police Chester Williams also spoke at the press briefing today and assured residents that police will hunt down these criminals and restore peace in their communities and if that means getting rid of rogue cops who facilitate these criminals, then they will do. Here is what the Commissioner had to say.
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"I want to say to the residents of Punta Gorda as well as Mango Creek that these criminals who would leave from Belize City and go to either Dangriga and Independence they will only feel as comfortable among you to the extent that you make them feel comfortable. If it is that these people are not welcomed within your community then you have a responsibility to to let them understand that they are not going to be welcomed among you. I know that sharing of information with the police at times may seem difficult because of fear of retribution but there are ways by which you can share information and it would be kept strictly confidential. We just want the information for action so I will ask that the public of both Punta Gorda and Independence to work with us with a view to root these criminal elements form among you and try to restore your communities to what you have known it to be. It might not be as easy at it may seem but it is not a venture the police can do alone. We surely will do our part but we also ask you to do your part. And to those who have the tendency of singing police brutality and police this and that, I want to say that it is our intention and I make no apologies for it to go hard at those persons who are creating havoc within these communities and we are going to use the force that is necessary within the ambits of the law to achieve our objectives and if it is that we go to your house and you are not involved just work with us and be a bit patient with us sometimes to achieve what we want to achieve, the good end up suffering for what the bad may have done. We are not a perfect organization. Yes we use our intelligence to go after those we need to go after but at the end of the day I am sure you will understand that sometimes intelligence do falter and we may end up in wrong places and it is not intentional but it is apart of the rocess."
"We are also looking at the potential involvement of police officers in these activities and once those officers are identified we are going to root them out of Punta Gorda as well because we cant have officers who are to be law abiding and for them to be in cahoots with criminals . We must start from among ourselves as well and so that is also being looked at this time."
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