Community Policing Unit Awards Eleven Scholarships

This year, eleven more Belizean youths will be able to further their education through the work of the Community Policing Unit and its partners.  The Community Policing Unit held a ceremony to commemorate the achievements of the scholars and present them with their rewards. News Five’s Britney Gordon attended the ceremony to meet the students and the proud sponsors of their education.

 

Britney Gordon, Reporting

The surge in crime over the past few months has been a primary concern for the Belize Police Department. On Tuesday, a state of emergency came into effect to combat the spike in gang activity. The Community Policing Unit is on a mission to curb gang activity using a proactive means of fighting crime.  Eleven students from vulnerable communities across the country are the recipients of high school and college scholarships. ACP Howell Gillett, National Commander of the Community Policing Unit, told us about this approach.

 

A.C.P. Howell Gillett, National Commander, Community Policing

“So our main objective is to keep our young people in school. There was a study done some years ago by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean.  And one of the findings of that study asserts that if a child is allowed to stay in school up to age seventeen, the chances of that child becoming a criminal or involved in criminal activities reduces by fifty percent. And that is awesome, so we are guided by that study and many other studies that have been done to show that if young people  get  quality education, we’ll have less crime in our communities. So the longer term plan is to  not allow young people to join these gangs, to join the  existing criminals so that we use suppressive policing to stop what is occurring now, but we also look deeper into the future to help our young people to remain positive and successful to build Belize.”

 

The Community Policing Unit places officers in vulnerable communities to familiarize themselves with residents, promoting healthy relationships between officers and the people they serve. Sixteen-year-old Edgar Seguro, a scholarship recipient who will begin his studies at Saint John’s Junior College this year, is grateful for the opportunity.

 

Britney Gordon

“What do you plan to study?”

 

Edgar Segura, Scholarship Recipient

“Business administration with accounting.

 

Britney Gordon

“So when you were approached by the policing unit and told that you would be selected to be a part of this program, what was your reaction? How did you feel?”

 

Edgar Segura

“First of all, I was thankful and grateful because I know how rare it is for people to get an opportunity to further their studies. First reaction, I was thankful and grateful.”

 

 

 

 

 

The unit hopes that by encouraging students to seek higher education, it will open doors for them to contribute positively to society.  Segura says that he is looking forward to that day.

 

Britney Gordon

“Have you always wanted to go to sixth form?“

 

 

Edgar Segura

“Yes, ma’am. It was a goal that I had in my head from high school. And so it’s a very good experience, a very extraordinary experience for me knowing that I can get to go.”

 

Britney Gordon

“And are you already thinking about what you want to be when you grow up?”

 

 

Edgar Segura

“All I know is I want to be somebody in the business force, but I’ve not made that decision as yet, as what specific I want to be.”

 

The scholarships are provided by several organizations. Andre Salgado, Manager of Quality Poultry, says that participating in the scholarship program is a new and rewarding endeavor for the company.

 

 

Andre Salgado, Manager, Quality Poultry

“This is the first time that we’ve ever considered doing a scholarship for any child. Quality poetry has throughout the almost fifty years of existence have given back to the community. We do donations to schools, different community events and activities. But when mister Howard approached us, we thought it was something That would be a change for us. It would be different. At the end of the day. Yes, it’s true. There is crime and we’re trying to figure out as well as a corporate customer. How we can help eliminate or try to help reduce the crime in Belize. So I do believe this is one way. Reaching out to kids that do need a scholarship.”

 

 

 

By developing connections within the community, the department is better informed and empowered to solve public safety issues. A.C.P. Gillett says that it is through this approach that the unit was able to select what students could benefit from the scholarships.

 

A.C.P. Howell Gillett

“Policing is not about just making an arrest in the community. If we don’t have to reach to the point of making an arrest. That’s a better part of it. Prevention is better than cure. So we want to help young people from that formative year, eight to fifteen, as suggested by most studies. We try to work with them from those years to see if we could keep them positive and let them graduate into successful adulthood. As you saw, there’s a parent who is an amputee. There are two of the children here receiving scholarships where the fathers were killed by gun violence. These children may not have the opportunity, otherwise, to go on with their studies. Our community policing officers went into the communities, went into the schools, to find the ones who would not have been given that opportunity to further their education. We are happy to be doing it.”

 

Britney Gordon for News Five.