Posted: Wednesday, May 14, 2025. 6:50 am CST.
By Horace Palacio: In every district, on any given day, Belizeans are met with a familiar sight: the flashing lights, the hand up, the demand to stop. Police checkpoints have become routine — not just in hotspots, but everywhere. What was once meant to be a targeted crime prevention tool has morphed into a nationwide disruption that wastes time, erodes trust, and delivers little actual safety. It’s time to rethink this outdated practice — and replace it with smarter, rights-respecting alternatives.
Checkpoints are now so frequent that they often feel less like a security measure and more like an instrument of control. People are stopped, searched, and questioned — not because there’s probable cause, but because they happen to be passing through. Taxi drivers are harassed. Delivery trucks are delayed. Tourists are confused. And working Belizeans — from farmers to teachers — are made to feel like suspects in their own country.
What’s worse, the checkpoints rarely catch real criminals. Most gang activity and gun violence doesn’t happen at checkpoints. It happens in neighborhoods where police visibility is inconsistent and community trust is broken. Meanwhile, the same people being stopped for expired insurance or tinted windows are often those just trying to make an honest living — and getting penalized instead of protected.
The government’s overreliance on checkpoints also signals something deeper: a failure to invest in proper policing strategies. Instead of using intelligence-led operations, surveillance tools, community engagement, and targeted raids, we’ve defaulted to a blunt, inefficient method that wastes manpower and builds resentment.
There is a better way — and other countries have shown how.
In the Netherlands and the UK, police rely on mobile patrols, digital traffic monitoring, license plate recognition, and intelligence-based interventions rather than stopping everyone indiscriminately. In Costa Rica, police partner with local neighborhood leaders to build community-based watch systems that are proactive rather than reactive. And in cities like Medellín and Bogotá, policing is supplemented by social outreach teams, who help prevent crime through conflict mediation and youth programs.
Belize can do the same. Here’s how:
First, phase out routine, location-fixed checkpoints that operate without specific intelligence. These should only be used for emergencies or targeted criminal operations.
Second, invest in mobile police patrols with proper equipment, GPS monitoring, and trained officers who are visible, accountable, and responsive to real threats — not pulling over single mothers on their way to work.
Third, upgrade to digital enforcement — using license plate scanners, insurance verification databases, and handheld devices to run checks in seconds without detaining everyone.
Fourth, reassign checkpoint officers to community policing units that engage directly with neighborhoods, build trust, and gather information where crime actually happens.
And finally, train officers in constitutional rights, respectful engagement, and de-escalation techniques — so that when stops do occur, they are justified, professional, and fair.
Belizeans deserve safety. But they also deserve dignity, freedom of movement, and a police force that serves rather than intimidates.
Checkpoints may look like control. But they don’t control crime. They inconvenience the law-abiding while leaving deeper problems untouched.
We need real public safety — not performative roadblocks.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author, Horace Palacio, and do not necessarily reflect the views or editorial stance of Breaking Belize News.
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The post It’s time to end the checkpoint culture in Belize — And replace it with smarter policing appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
In every district, on any given day, Belizeans are met with a familiar sight: the flashing lights, the hand up, the demand to stop. Police checkpoints have become routine — not just in hotspots, but everywhere. What was once meant to be a targeted crime prevention tool has morphed into a nationwide disruption that wastes time, erodes trust, and delivers little actual safety. It’s time to rethink this outdated practice — and replace it with smarter, rights-respecting alternatives.
The post It’s time to end the checkpoint culture in Belize — And replace it with smarter policing appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
