San Narciso Gets New Police Station

Police now have a new substation in San Narciso Village, Corozal. It opened on Thursday to serve thirteen villages in northern Belize. Community leaders and residents had long asked for it, and it replaces more limited quarters. Officials say the station will expand policing services and strengthen ties between police and the communities they serve. News Five’s Britney Gordon has the story.

 

Britney Gordon, Reporting

Government and police officials say the new police substation in San Narciso Village, Corozal, is part of the answer to the recent rise in violent crime. They say it will bring security services closer to residents and strengthen crime prevention.

 

Prime Minister John Briceño

“A community cannot reach its potential if the people do not feel safe, because businesses cannot operate with confidence, families cannot enjoy the peace of mind, and the young people cannot fully embrace the opportunities before them if security remains a concern. So when we invest in strengthening our national security infrastructure, we’re doing more than just constructing a building or providing equipment. We’re investing in the conditions that allow our communities to grow, our businesses to operate, and our people to pursue their livelihoods with greater confidence.”

 

The station has dedicated areas for investigations, domestic violence cases and officer living quarters. Police Commissioner Dr. Richard Rosado says it is designed to improve the quality of policing and make police services easier to reach.

 

Dr. Richard Rosado, Commissioner of Police

“As a department, we have received our new policy direction, which call for systematic reform, strategic refocusing, and institutional rebuilding. With a new policy directive, we must examine how we operate, how we deploy our resources, how we utilize technological advances, and how we measure our effectiveness. Our new policy directive will build a police department that is more capable, more responsive, more accountable, and better equipped to meet the evolving security needs of our country.”

 

The substation is expected to serve thirteen villages and about forty thousand residents in northern Belize. Officials say it will improve police visibility and response times in the area. Corozal Southwest Area Representative Ramiro Ramirez says the station is the result of more than a decade of advocacy.

 

Ramiro Ramirez, Area Representative, Corozal Southwest

“The government of Belize and our partners of CABEI, through this Belize Integral Security Program, we now have a state-of-the-art facility with a domestic, listen good, we have a room for the domestic violence unit to protect our women and children. Proper investigation room. It’s another room for investigation. Space for a decent accommodation for our officers who protect us day and night, 24/7. This station is a symbol that San Narciso matters, that the north matters, that our safety matters.”

 

The station cost about nine hundred and twenty-eight thousand dollars and was financed through the Belize Integral Security Program, with support from the Central American Bank for Economic Integration. It is part of a wider effort to upgrade police infrastructure across the country. Britney Gordon for News Five.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

Watch the full newscast here: