And one way of keeping violent crime trending down is by putting better trained cops on the street.
And, that may be happening sooner than you think.
A new era for the police training academy was ushered in today.
Not only do they have a new Dean of Academic affairs but they're also following the pandemic model and going virtual to expand training capabilities in a manner that will allow them to keep abreast of the Caribbean and the international community at large.
It's a tentative step forward for the training facility that, in recent years hasn't been producing a universally loved police force. But with a few academic improvements, the hope is that that will change. Cherisse Halsall reports.
It was all pomp and circumstance at the Police Training Academy this morning, as The Commissioner and the Minister of National Security introduced the public to the Academy's new Dean of Academic affairs, Dr. Priscilla Brown.
Chester Williams - Commissioner of Police "They say when you want to get something done, give it to a woman, she is going to get it done. Dr. Brown is a professional, she worked with the University of Belize for many years, she's well suited and well educated, she has the level of that we need to be able to ensure that we make the Belize Police department become a more professional organization. With the level of complaints we constantly get from the public as it relates to the actions of the police even when it comes to acts of violence, the fact that police apparently do not exercise due caution when dealing with people, it's one we believe can be enhanced by having a person Dr. Brown stature with us and so, with her being here, she is going to be the dean of the police training academy."
And Brown says that her goal is to make sure that training provided at the academy gets its proper accreditation
Dr. Priscilla Brown - Dean at Academics, Police Training Academy "We're looking at all forms of training and how we can ensure that those standards, the bench mark, it is aligned to regional and international standards and we've started some work already by looking at the T.I.P.S. training that is trafficking in persons and that is already aligned to the CARICOM qualifications framework. So, every training done in this institution will not just be a little training that somebody does but rather it is going to be well structured it's going to be meeting all international protocols and the long term goal is that we accredit this institution. It's not going to not just the national police training academy but it's going to be accredited so that all those who are trained here are professionals and representative of the training we've received and we have the support of the US embassy ensuring that if we do not have the personnel here to provide the training here in Belize that we'll source those persons to ensure that the officers they do have the skills, the competency and certainly we want to look at all those challenges we have and how do we ensure that we train the officers to be the best they possibly can. So I bring the technical expertise in terms of curriculum development, standards, meeting accreditation requirements and looking at the training in a more assertive way because we must be able to raise the bar so that our officers are professionals in what they do."
One major tool in the fight to ensure that professionalism is the newly debuted CBSI connect.
Keith Gilges - Charge D'affaires, US Embassy "This program comes through the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative, which is awfully similar to the Central American Regional Initiative that normally works in this area. This was one of those great opportunities, well Belize is also part of the Caribbean, so let's make sure that we're tapping into the resources of CBSI and Belize really gets to be the bridge there and because it's English language all the training that could be happening in other countries in the Caribbean, can also then benefit Belize and vice versa. It is also a program that helps within Belize and so the ability to have training here in Belmopan, in Belize City and other locations with portable equipment, means that the capacity to get that training app with many officers as possible is increase and it's also as we showed it's also nice when the technology works. When the media is here and the event is going on, that's not always the case but it really shows how robust this program is. The other element is technology is great but it's only a tool, what you need is the curriculum you need the professional ability to create the training and everything else, so that you use it to get that to as many people as possible. Ultimately the goal is not technology, the goal is better policing, the goal is greater citizen security and that's what we're striving towards both with Dr. Brown's work and with the CBSI connect program."
Chester Williams "For many years we have heard the media say that police don't know about technology, well we're here to tell you that you're assessment is wrong and it's even going to be more wrong after today because when you see how the CBSI connect works, you're going to be ecstatic to see it and I'm sure that you're going to want to be a part of the platform but it is one that is only used for police and security personnel within the Caribbean region."
Hon. Kareem Musa - Minister of Home Affairs "The vision of the Ministry and the people of Belize is to maximize who the modern policeman is and to give him every opportunity available to be one generation ahead of the criminals. CBSI connect is a young exciting application with a Gen-Z personality. CBSI in its 10th year, enjoys most of the generational classifications associated with it's era. These characteristics inspire the way forward. With the onset of challenges like Coronavirus and a viral criminal push to new digital frontiers this project and it's launch today could not have been more timely. Today is not a good day for you if you are intent on remaining loyal to the bad guys. Belize is changing for the better, the good guys are modifying their crime fighting software and hardware. With these user-friendly tools, we will surely touch the future of policing and get on the superhighway of keeping our families communities and country safe."
Minister Musa also told us that his hope is to restore public confidence in the police. And to do that he's advocating for more widespread community policing and the recording of public encounters with officers, but he says quote: "Ahead of restoration of that confidence there will have to be greater uses of technology as well as greater reform." End quote.
