Williams is also quoted as saying that the Sate of Emergency has had a significant impact in controlling crime.
And, indeed, if you watch the statistics from the Belize Crime Observatory - April, when the country was under lockdown - was a real outlier as crime rates plummeted. That month registered the lowest murder count for any month since November of 2013. Robberies were down by 90%, and reports of major crime declined by 48%.
But, today in Belmopan, the COMPOL said it's not about the SOE, it's about the crime strategy:
Chester Williams- Commissioner of Police
"Even if it is that we were to end up with under 100 murders this year, there are still those who will want to say what they want to say. There are certain factions of society that no matter what the police do, they will always have something negative to say. I do believe that, for the most part, the Belizean people appreciate the work that the police are doing. And when there is a high murder rate or crime rate, that should not be atributed only to the police or mainly to the police. That should be attributed mainly to the society. Because it isn't police that raised them. It is the homes they grew up in, the society that tolerates them. So, why should it be a failure on the police? I have said before, look around us. Even in the SOE, the murder rate in Trinidad, Jamaica and other Caribbean countries is still high. So, we are doing well."
May has 5 days to go, but it could be another month with record lows for major crime.
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