Combined, there are more than two thousand police officers, BDF soldiers, and Coast Guard officers. They are on the frontline of Belize's national security initiatives, initiatives which often intersect. Today, the Commanders of those law enforcement units gathered to discuss coordination, teamwork, and how bad the bad guys really are. It happened today at Price Barracks and 7NEWS was there.
Keith Swift Reporting,
The commanders and top brass of the Police Department, Belize Defense Force, and the National Coast Guard sat around one table today at Price Barracks. The BDF's Commander General Lloyd Gillett chaired the meeting.
Gen. Lloyd Gillett, Commander - BDF
"This year the police (is) briefing us on the crime situation in Belize City, their policing plan between 2006 to 2010. We're briefing them on our assessment of the threats to Belize and also our operational deployment as well as our responsibilities that we've been given in terms of dangerous goods and chemical weapons."
Commissioner of Police Gerald Westby says that in the year ahead - the single most important focus for these law enforcement agencies will be the approaching general elections.
Gerald Westby, Commissioner of Police
"Everybody is aware that there is a looming election. When it will be called we don't know but as the primary security forces we need to revisit our policing plan for the elections and also to see the level of support we will be getting from the different forces. So that is one of our primary objectives here today and also to look at other areas of cooperation."
And that cooperation includes working with the National Coast Guard. This is the first year that the coast guard has been invited to attend the high command meeting.
Gen. Cedric Borland, Commander - Coast Guard
"It is absolutely important that the Coast Guard attends this BDF-Police security meeting. We have known in the past that the BDF and the Police have been intensively involved in security matters. Now of recent we have the Belize National Coast Guard Service and we are looking specifically at maritime security."
Though no policy changes are expected to come out of the meeting, General Gillett says the camaraderie among the commanders is important.
Gen. Lloyd Gillett,
"Sometimes parochial interests want to override and we lose focus of what we are trying to do. It is one country, one flag, one citizen that we are trying to support. This is one of the ways that we get the senior people to meet because most of the times we are very involved in day to day activities and we don't have enough time for planning for the future. But these meetings forces us to plan for the future and forces us to meet one another and that personal relationship is very important for the working relationship."
The meeting is held annually.
