US-funded UNDP-InfoSegura Project invests in future crime intelligence architecture for Belize
Belmopan - Today, in support of efforts to improve national security and strengthen inter-agency crime data sharing in Belize, the U.S. Embassy presided over the donation of high-powered Dell server, and three Dell workstations, with high quality monitors. This equipment will improve data management for the Belize Police Department and the National Forensic Science Service. The objective is to bolster data exchange among agencies through the Belize Crime Observatory (BCO), which is the national crime data and information bank, to expedite and reinforce crime investigations and to ensure justice.
At the handover ceremony, Minister of Home Affairs and New Growth Industries, Kareem Musa, received the information and communication technology (ICT) equipment worth US$35,078 from U.S. Embassy representative, Andie De Arment. Implementing partner, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), was represented by the UNDP Programme Officer in Belize, Marilyn Pinelo-Lee.
The American people provided funding through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for the project "Evidence Based Information Management on Citizen Security in Central America and the Dominican Republic," implementing partner, UNDP Belize, managed the procurement of the equipment. This collaborative effort, also known as the InfoSegura Regional Project, is part of broader U.S. efforts to improve citizen security in the region. InfoSegura addresses critical needs outlined in the BCO 2020-2023 Strategic Action Plan, which calls for the establishment of a Criminal Intelligence Architecture by 2023.
Political and Economic Section Chief at the U.S. Embassy in Belmopan, Andie De Arment, noted, "We know that having seamless communication and an established platform for information sharing enhances the investigative capacity of law enforcement and increases the likelihood of cases reaching prosecution, which is a guarantee of justice for citizens. The new ICT equipment donated to the Government of Belize today will provide multiple agencies with 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 and New Growth Industries greatly values the relationship that has been maintained over the years with UNDP and USAID through the InfoSegura Regional Project. This donation of ICT equipment builds on previous investments by the U.S. government in support of multi-stakeholder rule of law infrastructure. We are confident that these agencies will make the best use of the ICT equipment they receive, to enhance the timely delivery of quality citizen security data and information to the Belize Crime Observatory, and to advance joint work towards the establishment of the Belize Crime Intelligence Architecture by 2023, for the use of information in the implementation of evidence-based policy."
UNDP Programme Officer in Belize Marilyn Pinelo-Lee noted, "The United Nations Development Programme through the USAID-funded InfoSegura Project has supported the BCO and its key partner agencies since May 2014 through the creation, strengthening and institutionalization of the BCO, which seeks to deepen the joint implementation of gender-sensitive tools, evidence-based policy formulation and decision-making, and support for a national security strategy. Since its inception, the project has invested approximately $796,000 in Belize. The ICT equipment donations meet the urgent needs outlined in the BCO Strategic Action Plan (2020-2023) and help Belize lay the foundation for a sophisticated ICT framework and the realization of multi-agency Criminal Intelligence Architecture."
The InfoSegura Regional Project continues to support interventions and policies aimed at strengthening criminal investigation methodologies for robust, swift and accurate justice through data-driven processes. The project is funded by the United States and implemented in Belize by UNDP in collaboration with the Ministry of Home Affairs and New Growth Industries, through the Belize Crime Observatory.
