And the curfew cops made a comeback, since the PM reinstated a snap curfew following the hurricane. The curfew was activated to limit the criminal activity that might happen under the cover of darkness, as blackouts blanketed the Belize District.
However, with no electricity, no news and no internet in most of the city's homes, how could those who broke the law even knew that it existed? That's what the ComPol said today, and expressed his disappointment in the cops who didn't use their discretion.
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"There were a number of persons who were arrested due to the curfew and I have an issue with it for the simple fact that at the time the curfew was called, many people were out of current, some had no internet, they had no access to social media and so the information about the existence of the curfew was not widely received by the public and so because of that many persons were caught off guard, not knowing that there was a curfew, and that's where I have an issue, I think the officers should have used more discretion concerning our circumstances before just arresting people. Yes, I do understand that they're doing their job as well but there are times that we ned to be more sympathetic or empathetic to the issues of people and these were not persons who were caught long after the curfew hours, it was just as the curfew began, early the night, and so I think that in the future we need to do better in terms of using our discretions so as not to criminalize people who are not aware of the existence of a particular law."
