But the police are still out there, arresting who they can and working to find evidence to hold up in court. And recently, they've been able to charge alleged gang members from the antelope Street area. Lately, that area has been riddled with gun violence and so the police have been enforcing the law against being a member of a gang. And so far, they've put two of the men behind bars while four others await their day in court.
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"We have utilized the law again as it related to being the member of a gang and so the GI3 investigation intelligence section have been busy in terms of investigating these gang members with a view to bring charges against them and last week they were prepared to charge 7 of these individuals for being a member of a gang, some of whom were caught, they were taken to court, they pled guilty and from what I am told, two persons were sentenced to six months in prison, I wish the sentencing was more but it is a still a start compared to before and we're grateful for that, some were remanded because they pled not guilty and I think that we're still looking for a few. The GI3 investigation unit is currently compiling files on other gangs within Belize City and we're hoping that very shortly, we should be bringing charges against another set of gang members so we're doing what we can from a legal perspective to disrupt the gangs in Belize city and we are hopeful that it will help to reduce the tension and the crime in Belize city where these gangs are concerned."
