Commissioner of Police declares August State of Emergency “successful;” discusses plans for September Celebrations

By Aaron Humes: The State of Emergency declared at the end of July has been lifted for affected areas and, appearing on Channel 7 News’ morning program, Commissioner of Police Chester Williams today said it had met its objectives – to prevent further gang-related murders.

While the number of murders overall rose compared to last year in a similar situation, none of those were gang-related as he explained: “We have to learn to separate the different types of murders that we have. Over the past month, the month of August, the murders we had were not gang-related; most of them were personal issues, domestic violence, issues people had that flared up right away into murder.”

He reiterated that it is “unfair” to police that anyone should think that police can stop all murders, pointing out that even in larger cities where police are literally everywhere, murders still occur and police can’t know what is going on unless they are told.

Concerning mediation between gang members, the Commissioner said there is an element of response from within family homes, citing an instance of a murder plot that was ultimately foiled being allegedly discussed in front of others, and linking this to the wider society’s response. Mediations continue under the Leadership Intervention Unit (LIU), which he stepped back into following the death of William Dawson, and others are filling the gap while new director Dominique Noralez continues to learn her position.

Curiously, the Commissioner compared the RESTORE Belize effort from the previous administration with the current efforts, saying the former “failed” because there was not enough family support.

And while the SOE remains a measure of “last resort” and a “necessary evil”, it offers a path to conciliation behind prison walls, and the Commissioner said that if there is any escalation in response to the murder of Orel Leslie on Sunday night, it would be used again during the September Celebrations to make sure public events are safe.

“We are monitoring the situation between BLC (Backaland Crips) and PIV (Peace in the Valley) following the death of Orel Leslie last night. I personally have spoken to some of the young men on the streets and have said to them what my position is. And if we see that they try to do what George Street and Southside were doing that led to the SOE, then certainly to ensure public safety during the September Celebrations, the SOE is going to be on the table,” he said.

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