Police Commissioner Addresses Controversial Detention of 13-Year-Old Under SOE

The Commissioner of Police Chester Williams has weighed in on the police rounding up and imprisoning a minor under the current State of Emergency. The 13-year-old has been held at the Kolbe Foundation since June 24 when the SOE came into effect, but, according to his mother, the teen was wrongly targeted. In a post on Facebook, the mother claims the minor was shot back in March and has been constantly harassed by police since then. She denied her son’s involvement in criminal activities and alleged he was unfairly targeted under the crackdown. However, today, Williams refuted the mother’s claims and spoke about the police’s rationale for apprehending the minor.

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police: “Have you not reported on many instances where minors are either being charged for murder or heinous crime and even situations where minors are killed? You have had a number of those reportings right? So it is not far fetched to have a 13-year-old under the SOE. The 13-year-old in question, I know him, and I believe that he had been shot once. Reports to us just two days prior to the SOE was that he was accused of chasing somebody in the Martin’s area with a gun to shoot. It is sad to see that it’s a 13 year old and while we’d like to be empathetic towards him I think that the current situation he’s in is one that is going to enable him to really reflect on his life, very young life, in terms of does he want to continue that lifestyle of crime and violence or does he want to step out of it ? I think that as a society we need to look at things holistically and don’t just look at it from the standpoint that he’s a 13-year-old but look at it from the standpoint that if he’s not there and he is left to roam the streets you might report of him being killed or you might report of him killing somebody. So I think that what we’re doing now with the program set up as a part of the SOE where we have the lead interventionist, Brother Nuri, going into the prison twice a week and do interventions and mentoring to these young men  I think it’s a very good way for us to be able to help him and others who are there to really and truly reflect on why they are there and as well as to find ways and means as to why they would not want to get back there. So I hear the cry, I hear the concern but for me at this time it is more about saving him from being killed or saving him from killing somebody. And I do believe that what we’re doing is going to help him more than affecting him in a negative way.”

The minor’s detention caught the Ministry of Human Development’s attention, raising concerns about the teen being held at the Wagner Youth Facility at the Belize Central Prison. Williams spoke about the ministry’s intervention and the difficulty of relocating the allegedly troubled teen.

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police: “Myself and the Minister have discussed that and we were looking at the powers under the SOE. If the Minister does have the power to confine him we’re looking at Mile 21 and we’re not seeing that in the legislation, but perhaps it can be done. But we have to be careful again. If we put him at Mile 21 the children who are kept at Mile 21 are not at his level. So putting him there may also have a far negative effect on the children who are there at Mile 21. He might be able to influence them to become more violent. So it is something we have to look at and try to see how we can find the best solution to the problem or to the issue.”

Reporter: Has he been a part of any other intervention, methods of mediation, before?

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police:  “Yes, yes.”

Reporter: And none of those work? 

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police: “No.”

Reporter: Have you spoken to his mother? You know, like many mothers, their is son innocent she says the same thing. 

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police:  “Yeah. I have not spoken to her personally. Perhaps I should and I will pledge to do so. But I know that the mother is aware that her son is problematic. She’s quite aware of that. She had reached out to somebody for help and that person had reached out to me. And so I will try my best to see if I can meet with her sometime this week and see what we can work out together to try and help the young man because perhaps he does need help. So we’ll just see how we can do that.”

Williams added that the minor has taken part in mediation efforts before.