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Every night in the news, there's some other report of wanton violence, some lawless assault that leaves us all shaking our heads. And in Belize City, eight times out of ten, if it involves a gun and a shooting victim – those involved are likely to be youths, very often-times teenaged minors. For many who are involved in intervention it's a bewildering phenomenon, almost like a generation of child soldiers coming of age, with their rite of passage as a violent crime. How to fix it? For sure, there's no cure-all, and no magic wand that will make it all better. But that doesn't mean it's hopeless, and today the CYDP launched a two day summit to bring together all the players in the hopes of finding an antidote to youth violence.

Jacqueline Godwin Reporting,
Can this gathering of men, women and young persons accomplish what has been tried for so long but without much success? That is, reducing the level of crime and gun violence. Today it stands at fifty five murders countrywide. In the Belize District alone the number is 32 but what is even more staggering is that twenty seven of them were youths from Belize City.

The bloodshed is out of control and cleaning up the mess will be quite a challenge. But it's one that a first national juvenile summit on crime and delinquency will attempt to make a breakthrough on by first uniting all stakeholders. That's twenty organizations and by working together, participants hope they can save young lives and create a greater sense of security in the society. But is this realistic?

Supt. Edward Broaster, Executive Director – CYDP
"The summit is very realistic. I think that too often we tend not to look at the detours or have signs in place where they shouldn't be in place and we have our young people going down a destructive path and we are not coming together in terms of addressing the problems that face our young people and I am sure while CYDP might have part of the answer, there are other stakeholders that will be participating in this summit that will have other components and factors that are much important as well and we can come together in creating one policy to address the problem."

Hon. Carlos Perdomo, Minister of National Security
"We know the problems but the solutions we have said from the beginning have to be a multi-sectoral response. It cannot be something that is left to the law enforcement authorities, even though we play a very important part. But some of the socials issues that are at the roots of some of the bigger issues of crime and violence, we need to look at."

Dr. Carolyn Gentle–Genitty, Researcher/Asst Prof – IA
"So by the time they are 18, what do we want them to look like, what services do we want them to actually have and through that create a service delivery system, that is the anticipation."

But how do you convince troubled youths to stay away from crime when they see public officials and officers of private entities acting with little or no regard for the law?

Hon. Carlos Perdomo,
"It exists. As you know every where it exists in the public service, in our departments, it exists in the wider business community because you know sometimes when we talk about corruption we only talk about the corrupted, we do not talk about the corruptor and there are two sides to this story and sometimes a lot of it comes from people you wouldn't imagine. We have been very strict with it. We've been trying left right and center to get rid of people where we have the proof but more often than not we can't get the proof. A lot of times it is allegations, a lot of times people are afraid to come forward."

Dr. Carolyn Gentle–Genitty,
"Despite what's going on there, what is your role in the community and if we can create stakes in society where young people care what other people think of them I can think the corruption can easily be seen as an aside rather than the purpose or the main focus as to why a young person may steal or burglarized."

Youths have also been outspoken about other factors contributing to the problem.

Supt. Edward Broaster,
"Our children are coming into homes that their parents don't have that parental guidance, that social control things like that, again education, and then we have the environment where the prison is a much better place for young people than some of the areas in which they live. So we are here wondering why they are afraid to go to prison but the conditions at the prison are much better than some of the conditions that some of these young persons live in or some of our citizens live in and we need to address these problems."

The first national juvenile summit on crime and delinquency in Belize is hosted by the Conscious Youth Development Programme, CYDP and the Ministry of National Security

Supt. Edward Broaster,
"The fact that we are having this summit today is part of the short term and the long term solution that we are looking at because if we continue to lose our young persons to street violence and to crime and sit idly by and not come together as one in addressing the problem then we will be defeating the goals of the young people and the future of our country."

At the end of the two day event a juvenile policy form will be created from the information shared and that will be included in the national youth policy.

Supt. Edward Broaster,
"And create a policy that we can put forward to government for implementation."

Later this month the Community Rehabilitation Programme will be hosting a two day workshop to also look at legislation as it relates to juveniles. Results from that workshop and the summit will then be incorporated in the national policy for youth.