Bart Jones Meets with LIU Director to Review Violence Prevention Efforts

Since assuming temporary leadership of the Belize Police Department, Deputy Commissioner Bart Jones says the work of keeping communities safe continues without disruption. Today, that mission brought him to the Leadership Intervention Unit (LIU), where he met with the Acting Director, Andrew Dawson. The goal of the meeting was to receive a firsthand briefing on the unit’s initiatives and explore ways the police and the LIU can strengthen collaboration. While he has not been directly involved with the program before, he noted that they have been an important partner in reducing violence and creating safer neighborhoods. Dawson, for his part, welcomed the chance to share updates and reaffirm the importance of police support in sustaining progress.

 

Bart Jones, Acting Commissioner of Police

“The work they have been doing in my view, contributes to the lowering of the violence and the murders that we’re seeing in the streets. And so I think it’s something that is working. So it’s for me to get a firsthand from Mister Dawson, as to how the police can better work with the LIU to improve. So that’s what– but to answer the question, I think it is working, and it is contributing towards the lowering of the violence that we’re seeing in the streets.”

 

Andrew Dawson, Acting Director, LIU

“There is always room for improvement, there is always room for us to reassess and re-strategize. So there’s also a need for tweaking of some of the programs. Hence the reason these discussions so we can continue to look at where we can maximize on some of the areas where we can assess and re-strategize and re-implement some of the program strategies that we implore through the leadership intervention unit. So, it’s just reassessing what is there, future collaborations and how we can improve and maximizing on our impact within society. As I said, we continue to watch the layout as it relates to engagements within the respective communities. We continue to do our part as LIU and other social partners as well. So I know it’s a multi-agency, multi-sectoral type of approach. So LIU continues to maintain a constant energy on the ground, interacting with these individuals and ensuring that there’s an option for them to seek either capacity building training, vocational training, or however the intervention may seem or suit them so that they can get an opportunity to seek better lives.”