The 24 hour police booth on the Red Creek Road out west was one of the causalities of the unrest earlier this year. In the dark of night on January 17th, vandals torched the hut. It was out of service for ten months until last week when the Twin Towns Crime Committee finished construction on a new booth.
They haven't been on the news radar much, but since 2001 the Crime Committee has been quietly furnishing San Ignacio police with motor cycles, handcuffs, flashlights, and even gun holsters. The cost for the police booth alone is $20,000 and Cayo Crime Committee Chairman Andre Lopez says it's a major upgrade.
Andre Lopez, Chairman - Twin Town Crime Committee
"If you come to Cayo you can't miss it. It's a beautiful police booth, it's a big cement building, you can't knock it down, you can't push it down, you can't burn it down; that thing is there forever. It has a holding cell for bad guys, running water in the bathroom for the policemen so they can take care of their needs, it has electricity, it has spotlights so they can do nighttime checks, and we are going to build two more just like it.
We believe that what we are doing is correct and we'll also believe that the police department is as fine as you're going to get. These guys are overworked and underpaid and they need the community support. We go out and show them that there is a good segment of the community that will support these guys and we will preach and tell the community that if they help us, the police can better help us, and it works."
The booth was actually opened last week but Lopez and members of the Crime Committee were officially thanked in the Raccoon Street Police Station conference room this morning. So far the Crime Committee's donations to the Police Department add up to about $35,000.
And during this morning's ceremony, Constable Elroy Carcamo was recognized as the officer of the month. Carcamo is based at the Douglas Substation in Orange Walk annd he is singled out for his work with youths through the Police Cadet Corp in that area. Carcamo has been with the department since July of 2001.
