Was P.C. Marin Allowed to Interact with Female Detainee?

P.C. Marin was not authorized to interact with female detainees, so what was he doing that would have brought him into contact with the woman?  According to the Commissioner of Police, the victim was in custody along with another woman.  Marin’s sole responsibility, as cellblock keeper, was to make sure that the prisoners were attended to while in detention.

 

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police

“He was just the cellblock keeper, his duty there was just to ensure that the prisoners are okay.  If they needed water or anything of that sort, he provided for them, but when it comes to dealing with female prisoners, if any female prisoner needed to have been taken out of the cell, that should not have been his responsibility.  That should have been done by a woman police officer.  So his action in removing her from the cellblock was wrong and more so, the said that she told him she wanted a cigarette.  He even went and got a cigarette for her, and the reason, according to him why she was taken from the cellblock, was to go and smoke a cigarette which, again, is utterly wrong.  So we have seen a number of breakdowns in terms of our internal policies that will be addressed likewise. There was another female prisoner in the cellblock and yes, she saw what took place and she did have some concerns and whenever the shift changed and the other officers came on, she was the one who reported first to the police.”

 

Reporter

“How hard was it to get the victim to make a complaint?  We know that maybe she is someone who has been in the cellblock before, you know, she may be intimidated by the situation.”

 

Chester Williams

“It was not difficult, she was forthcoming and we are very much appreciative of that and this is what we want, that whenever we do have these allegations that people can feel free to come forward so that we can address it.  Oftentimes, we hear people say police this and police that, but they are never willing to come forward and give statements.  To see that she was brave enough to do so, we are grateful.”

 

Chester Williams

“When it comes to cases involving police officers, we have to take it very seriously.  We are the custodians of the law and when we have people in our care, we must ensure that we do what we can so as not to breach that trust and confidence.  The actions of P.C. Marin are such that it is an egregious act of breach of trust and confidence and we must do as best as we can to demonstrate to the public that while this had occurred, that we will do our best to ensure that the officer is held to account for what he did.”

 

A statement issued by the Belize Police Department reads, quote, the ongoing internal investigation aims to determine whether there was any lapse in supervision or neglect of duty that may have allowed this egregious act to occur.  The B.P.D. is dedicated to transparency and accountability, ensuring that justice is served and public trust is maintained, end quote.