At the top of the newscast, we spoke about the rash of armed robberies in the downtown area of Belize City. You saw the Deputy Commissioner of Police and the Albert Area Representative, Tracey Taegar Panton. She was there because there’s also a political dimension to brazen crime when it is visited on the heart of the city’s commercial center.
Yesterday also, Opposition Leader John Briceno spoke about the crime wave.
Here’s what he had to say on the recent spike in murders, armed robberies, and home invasions that have dominated the news:
Hon. John Briceno - Leader of the Opposition
"According to the latest reports, 79 murders have been committed to date. Increasing levels of crime has not only been confined to the ongoing gang violence but now include the killing of innocent children, of women and now we can add to the list of horrific crimes, home invasions and the holding up of businesses including the recent hold up of Courts in Corozal and Hofius in Belize City. We have heard a lot of talk from the recently reappointed Minister of Police about operation ACT and they have added more acronyms to the list of police units like the GSU, ADU, SPU and the list goes on. So far none of this has made so much as a dent in the crime and violence. Enough with acronyms, during the budget debate, police minister John Saldivar said that he would be holding consultations with civil society, the social partners and other stakeholders to look at a comprehensive plan to address the crime situation. He stated that he would call on the opposition as well - to date he has not invited any of us in the opposition to a single meeting. Neither has he reached out to anyone in our party to ask us to be a part of his efforts. It would be an exaggeration to say that the minister of national security and the leadership of the Belize police department has lost the confidence of our people when it comes to preventing, detecting and solving crime. As well they have lost our confidence in arresting and convicting criminals.”
And to demonstrate that he and his party aren’t simply throwing a fit because the National Security Ministry hasn’t reached out to them, Briceño shared a summary of the insights that he and his party would have hoped to discuss with the Government on how to address crime. Here’s how he put it:
Hon. John Briceno
"We remain convinced however that this problem will not be solved with guns and more BDF on the streets, we cannot brutalize our youth into submission. This will not work. As I said in my last press briefing, we need to revitalize the Southside of Belize City to make it a zone of opportunity. Our communities will be safer if we police better, keep our children in school, improve relations between the police and the community and improve our conviction rates. And we all have to be better parents, we need to treat our children with love, care and understanding and yes discipline. We need a plan that will see a police department equip to serve and protect our citizens and communities. A knowledgeable person in policing tactics recently told me that the police department needs to be retrained, retooled and refocused; I agree with that assessment.”
In what it calls, the Dialogue on Citizens’ Security, the Ministry of National Security has held consultations with the Belize Council of Churches, the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) and the National Trade Union Congress of Belize (NTUCB).
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