Is San Ignacio a New Hotbed for Violent Crimes?

There’s been an increase in violence in twin towns of San Ignacio and Santa Elena and some residents attribute the spike to the closure of the Hawkesworth Bridge.  Last Thursday, we reported on the murder of an Asian restaurant owner who was shot and killed outside of his place of business.  The rise in violent crimes has raised serious concerns and police commissioner Chester Williams visited his counterparts in that municipality to see how the issue can be brought under control.  According to ComPol Williams, criminal elements from other parts of Cayo District are making their way to San Ignacio.

 

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police

“The truth is, the issue in San Ignacio is one of concern and I share the same concern like you and the people of San Ignacio.  I was there last week and I met with the Western Regional Commander and the command structure in San Ignacio Town and we discussed the ongoing crime problems there and see what we can do to address it.  I have since put a number of things in place to be able to make sure that the people in San Ignacio feel safe, not just in their homes but also in the streets.  I am sure that the people would be able to attest that over the weekend they saw increased police activities, including a number of operations.  Certain persons were arrested and those operations are going to continue indefinitely.  What we want to do is to make sure that we go after those persons who we believed are involved in these criminal activities and we’re not just looking at those persons in San Ignacio, but we’re also looking at the transient criminals.  Those from Roaring Creek, Cotton Tree who may also go into the San Ignacio region and commit these types of crimes.  So we’re ensuring that we target the entire Cayo District per se to go after persons we believe are involved in robberies as well as other shootings and gang activities.”