Police prohibited from certain publications and electoral activities

(1) Subject to sub-section (3), no police officer shall– (a) in any public place or in any document or via any social networking website or other medium or means of communication, whether or not within Belize, publish any information or express any opinion on matters of national security interest or with national or international political implications; (b) be a scrutineer, an election agent or an assistant election agent under the Representation of the People Act, or a candidate for parliamentary, municipal or village council elections. (2) A non-commissioned officer or constable who breaches sub-section (1) commits a major offence against discipline. (3) Sub-section (1)(a) shall not apply where– (a) a police officer is acting on instructions and in the execution of his official duties; (b) the information or opinion is published in the course of a lecture address, the subject matter of which is approved by the Commissioner, made and given at any educational institution in the bona fide pursuit of the professional activity of the police officer; or (c) the information or opinion is expressed in an article or other literary contribution, to a journal or other periodical or document prepared in the bona fide pursuit of the professional activity of the police officer and with the written permission of the Police Act 25 (4) In this section “publish” means– (a) to communicate the information or opinion to a person whether orally or in writing and includes the broadcasting of words and pictures digitally or electronically or by any other means; and (b) in relation to any writing, exhibiting in public or causing to be read or seen or showing or delivering or causing to be shown or delivered in order that the writing may be read or seen by a person.