And that horrifying incident coupled with the escalating violence has the citizens and the mayor of the twin towns alarmed. But while the police are ramping up their presence, one glaring issue that has been at the root of the problem is the officers currently stationed there. According to the mayor, they have been lax in their duties, and he says this has contributed to the rise in crime.
Are the new measures enough to bring San Ignacio and Santa Elena back to their previous peaceful state?
We got the perspective of both the ComPol and Mayor Earl Trapp today. Courtney Menzies has this story.
San Ignacio and Santa Elena have always been known as the tranquil twin towns - the safest municipality in Belize.
But a spike in violent crimes has led to two persons being killed and multiple businesses being robbed.
The citizen insecurity has also led to the closure of at least one business, so far.
It's unusual and frightening for the residents of this destination - frequented by both tourists and locals. The sharp increase in murders forced the Commissioner of Police to take a trip west, and he says he's put measures in place to quell the violence.
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"I was there last week and I met with the Western Regional Commander and the command structure in San Ignacio Town and we discussed the ongoing crime problems there and see what we can do to address it. I have since put a number of things in place to be able to make sure that the people of San Ignacio feels safe, not just in their homes but also on the streets. I'm sure the people would be able to attest that over the weekend they saw increased police activities including a number of operations, certain persons were arrested and those operations are going to continue indefinitely. What we want to do is to make sure we go after those persons who we believe are involved in these criminal activities and we're not just looking at those persons in San Ignacio but we're also looking at the transient criminals, those from Roaring Creek, Cotton Tree who may also go into the San Ignacio regions and commit these types of crimes."
"Another feature to the new plan for San Ignacio is to install GI3 officers in San Ignacio Town and two officers are there as of today and those officers have been tasked to look at this gang investigation, where the gang members are concerned to see how we can levy charges against them."
But these measures may not be enough to rebuild the trust of the Cayo residents. The Mayor of the Twin Towns has criticized the local precinct for their carelessness and lack of urgency. He told us via Zoom that rather than trying to prevent the robberies, they instead blamed the Asian business owners for staying open after dark.
Earl Trapp, Mayor, SISE
"About two and a half weeks ago, again, the Chinese community called on me for a meeting. They wanted to discuss an escalation of the crimes, the robberies, so I in turn called the OC San Ignacio and expressed the concern of the people and even my concern and if we could meet to have a meeting and discuss the way forward and see what we can do as the local authorities, what we can do to help basically curb the robberies. And we met and we had discussions but I believe that when we do meet as such, more concerns should be towards the people that are being robbed and in this case the Chinese were concerned but I don't believe the concerns were being address in a proactive manner because all that was being done, all the fingers were being pointed towards the Chinese."
"So I think the police need to be more of a different party that will be more into the safety of the community and stop just pointing fingers."
He added that in previous cases when the police have been called, they've either not shown up at all or showed up hours later.
It's an issue that needs to be addressed from the top, but the ComPol isn't crucifying the OC just yet. He says that the punishment has to fit the crime.
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"I am a very reasonable person and I don't crucify people for crucifixion sake. How many times have you not ridiculed me, have you not brought me down to lowest, and I don't crucify you, you're still my friend. That's the type of person I am."
"I have to be reasonable in decisions I make, it's not because I have the power to do certain things it means that I should just arbitrarily do it or do it without just cause or being unreasonable. At times, as managers we have to strike a balance to make sure that the actions that we do take represent. The infraction a person has alleged to have committed."
But the Mayor says that if the crime doesn't stop soon, Cayo could start losing its reputation of being a "safe haven" for Belizeans.
Earl Trapp, Mayor, SISE
"Now with the hike or the spike in these crimes, yes it will affect the economic situation because many residents out district will think twice before they decide to make San Ignacio and Santa Elena their final destination to come and have a good time so it's important that the police department and the Ministry of Security begin to think out of the box and emphasize more on safety not only within the twin towns but throughout the country of Belize."
