The Police Zone Beat Liaison Office has divided the city into 7 zones where officers are tasked to go into the communities, and initiate personal contact with residents. Many times, the officers working the zones encounter a number of situations and persons in particularly difficult circumstances. Because of this for the past three years the Community Policing Unit has reached out to business houses to contribute toys and food items for distribution to those most in need. Officer in charge of the community policing in Belize City Diana Hall explains that this is something that makes a small but meaningful difference.
Inspector Diana Hall,
"We went out in the community and found people who are in need so tomorrow we will be distributing groceries and toys around the city. We have zone beat officers who are out in the community on a daily basis so when they submit their report to me, I see the names of the persons who are in need. We have fourteen boxes of groceries and we have over two hundred toys for the children. What we are contributing is just a small fraction, there are a lot more people that are in need. It is a good feeling to assist people and it is a blessing for us to be able to assist someone in need."
The toys and the foodstuff will be distributed tomorrow evening to families that have already been identified. And while that's tomorrow, this afternoon the Zone Beat Liaison officers were at Sister Cecilia's Home for the Elderly where they served and entertained residents. We stopped in on the fun.
Sgt. Diane Williams,
"Today we came out to the Sister Cecilia Home to make Christmas for
the elderly. It is very important that the community does not forget the elderly, they are what started this country and the elderly sometimes they are being forgotten and we came here to let them know that there is love, not only from family but from strangers. Many of these elderly citizens, their families sometimes bring them here and forget about them and so we are here to give them some of that love that they have been missing. We'll be having karaoke and we will dance with them from the one who cannot walk to the one who can walk will be dancing."
