CITIZENS ORGANIZED FOR LIBERTY THROUGH ACTION (COLA) PRESS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE COLA TO RELEASE SECRET FILES ON POLICE OFFICERS’ MISTREATMENT BELIZE CITY, Sun. Dec. 7, 2014 – After careful and thorough review of each document in the files provided to us by anonymous sources, COLA has decided to release for public consumption through the press files of correspondence between the Belize Police Association and Belize Police Department, specifically Commissioner of Police Allen Whylie and other senior officials, as well as officials of the Ministries of National Security and the Public Service among others. These documents, dating back to 2011, detail an increasing frustration with the Police High Command’s inability and unwillingness to meet with the Police Association over its grievances concerning the constables, corporals and sergeants it represents. It is clear that the Department has not only not made itself available to discuss and remedy these concerns; it prefers to cover up its inefficiency by not allowing the Association to seek help from other quarters on the basis of going against regulations. Among the matters discussed in these communications are unsupported, vindictive and unexplained transfers of officers which openly flout Department regulations; a glaring lack of support for junior officers involved in a recent major operation on the nation’s highways; poor living conditions for officers on Caye Caulker; a lack of clarity on the benefits and allowances to be granted to police officers because the law is not clear on whether they are members of the Public Service, and at every turn, the reluctance of the Police High Command to help the Police Association, which is not a trade union but a representative of junior officers, do its job effectively and fairly. The files reveal a Commissioner of Police that seems overmatched in his duties; a political directorate including the Minister of National Security and his CEO that appears directionless and concerned more with appearances that true development of the most important section of our law enforcement sector; and most importantly a Government that has failed to secure the welfare of our most valuable public servants, those who put their lives on the line daily, often at great personal and family cost, to ensure that Belize remains safe and secure. We serve no purpose other than to give voice to the voiceless of the Police Department, to put in the public view the many abuses officers suffer on a daily basis from their own High Command, and which sheds some light on why our crime-fighting efforts are not as successful as they should be. We hope the release of the files will speed up action on the many issues they highlight. Signed Geovannie Brackett President 664-3771
Posted on: Tue, 09 Dec 2014 14:52:36 +0000