The Minister of National Security, Honorable John Saldivar paid an official visit to the Eastern Police Division, which includes Caye Caulker and San Pedro police formations. On Wednesday, August 26th Saldivar visited San Pedro where he toured the San Pedro police facilities and had a few words with the police officers. The Minister also toured the areas of responsibility that the police patrol on a daily basis, which took him to the outskirts of the island, and he also met with community members in efforts to foster good police/community relations.
Saldivar began his tour of Ambergris Caye by heading to its southern part, where he met with members of the South Ambergris Caye Neighborhood Watch. Then he made his way to the central communities of the island and ended his tour in Northern Ambergris Caye. According to Saldivar, his ministry has been trying to implement a community oriented policing strategy. “There was the feeling that there wasn’t enough buy-in from the police and community perspective, but fortunately that is changing now. We notice that people are more receptive, and my advice is to embrace this community oriented policy strategy,” said Saldivar.
The Police Department has an arduous task in maintaining order in their particular communities; however a key role in the motivation of great work has to do with the quality of working and living conditions. “We have looked at various areas of deficiencies which need to be improved. One of the key things out here in San Pedro and Caye Caulker is residential quarters for the police officers. We must keep morale high, and part of it is proper living conditions under which police officers have to work and so the way forward is to try and improve that.” He noted the importance of touring the different police facilities and the communities. “Seeing it first hand and having the officers walk along with me to the various spots of interest and being able to see for myself what they are going through, it definitely gives me a better perspective and it make you understand more the plight of both police officers and the community,” ended Saldivar.
The Ministry of National Security will continue the refurbishment of police barracks and engage in various security initiatives. To accomplish these projects, the ministry has tapped into a $30 million US dollar loan from the Central American Bank for Economic Integration.
