BELMOPAN, Belize – In support of Belize’s effort to enhance its national security and strengthen inter-agency crime-data sharing, today the US embassy presided over a donation that included a high-powered Dell server and three Dell workstations with high-quality monitors. This equipment will support improvements in data management by the Belize police department and the national forensic science service. The goal is to strengthen inter-agency data sharing, through the Belize Crime Observatory – the national repository of crime data and information – so that criminal investigations can be swift, thorough, and assure justice.
At the bestowal ceremony, minister of home affairs & new growth industries Kareem Musa received the US $35,078 in Information Communication Technology (ICT) equipment from US Embassy representative political-economic chief Andie De Arment. Implementing partner United Nations Development Program (UNDP) was represented by Belize’s programme officer Marilyn Pinelo-Lee.
The American people funded this project through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)’s “Evidence-Based Information Management for Citizen Security in Central America and the Dominican Republic” project; implementing partner UNDP Belize procured the equipment. This collaborative effort, also known as the InfoSegura regional project, is an integral part of broader US efforts to improve citizen security in the region. InfoSegura addresses critical needs outlined in the BCO’s Strategic Action Plan (2020-2023), which envisions the establishment of a Crime Intelligence Architecture by 2023.
US embassy political-economic chief Andie De Arment highlighted:
“We know that seamless communication and an established platform for intelligence sharing improves law enforcement investigations and increases the likelihood of prosecutions – ensuring justice for citizens. The ICT equipment donated to the Government of Belize today, are new resources that will give multiple agencies access to accurate, real-time information to follow the successful arc of justice from investigation to prosecution.”
Minister Kareem Musa, stated:
“The ministry of home affairs & new growth industries places very high value on the relationship that has been nurtured over the years with the UNDP and USAID, through the InfoSegura regional project. This ICT equipment donation builds upon previous investments made by the US government to support rule of law infrastructure across multiple stakeholders. We trust that these agencies will make the best possible use of the hardware being provided, to enhance the timely delivery of quality data and information on citizen security to the Belize Crime Observatory, and to advance the collaborative work towards establishing Belize’s Crime Intelligence Architecture by 2023, for the use of information in the implementation of public policies based on evidence.”
UNDP Belize programme officer, Marilyn Pinelo – Lee, remarked:
“The United Nations Development Programme through the USAID funded InfoSegura Project has been supporting the BCO and its key partner agencies since May 2014 through the creation, strengthening and institutionalization of the BCO, deepening the joint implementation of tools sensitive to gender, evidence-based policy and decision making and the support to a national security strategy. Since its inception the project has invested approximately US$796,000 in Belize. Donations of ICT equipment satisfy the urgent needs outlined in the BCO’s Strategic Action Plan (2020-2023) and help to lay the foundation for a sophisticated ICT framework and the realization of Belize’s multi-agency Crime Intelligence Architecture.”
The InfoSegura regional project continues to support interventions and policies that aim to strengthen crime investigations methodologies so that justice may be strong, swift, and accurate through a data-driven processes. The project is being funded by the United States and implemented in Belize by the UNDP in partnership with the ministry of home affairs & new growth industries, through the Belize Crime Observatory.
