Council chairman says spike in violence is nothing new
Michael Young
Despite the promises of implementation of the Harold Crooks report and recommendations coming from the police department, no tangible evidence of the success of any plan has been forthcoming and the violence continues to spread. The blood from over a dozen reported recent shootings in the old capital alone and three shooting deaths, have been oozing on the streets but Young says that the epidemic like level of violence is not new.
Michael Young, Chairman, Crimes Control Council
“The outbreak of violent crime has been from about 2000, so what we’re seeing here is a phenomenon that has been affecting Belize for some years. It is extremely difficult but we need to understand that getting hysterical about it is not going to help anybody. Having marches everyday or every Sunday in protest against crime is not going to help the situation. What we need is analytic attack on the problems that we have. What we need is a roadmap and this in fact what the crime control council in conjunction with the ministry of national security has done. It’s going to be a long way forward and we have been working diligently in this regard. What has really come home to us is that even though we are working on our plan, we need to keep engaged with the public because it is an ongoing problem. People need to understand that there is no need to have despair about this situation. You have countries that have even worse crime rate than what Belize has. In fact the trend for Belize has been sharply up from 2000, going straight up. But in 2009 at least there were some tapering off. We don’t know that—there is no way we can say we are over the crime thing, right, but the point is that even from the figures of 2009, it didn’t go up beyond 2008 and it went down a little bit. What it demonstrates is that if we keep our heads and we are diligent in fighting this problem, it is something that we can control; it is something that we can reduce. It will take us a number of years, but it can happen.”
Bs
When you drive around in a nice vehicle and you shop in brodies, mirabs and those nice places, when yu kids go to nice schools and you live in a nice secure neighborhood and your bread gets buttered generously for doing nothing, what would you know about the spike of violence in Belize if you don´t live it? How can you tell the grieving mothers, wives, children of fallen victims that ¨they have no need to despair¨ or that ¨other countries have worst crime rates than belize¨, what makes you think those are comforting words for we the ones who live out here? I can´t even take my kids to school without looking over my shoulder every minute and hoping a stray bullet don´t come my way. You need to get from out from the fantasy world you and Perdomo live in, and do what your are paid to do or shut up!!!
To single Ghetto Mother,
I too am a single mother and though I would never refer to myself as “ghetto”, I have some of the same concerns as you do. You have to understand that even though the prime minister lives the life he chooses to live, at least he is considering doing something about the violence. You say that you have to live it to know it, well I have no desire to live it but I am. That does not make it any easier for me to do anything because there are people out there who do not want anything better for themselves. They say they do but the things that they do will never get them out of the hole. So think positive, live the best you can and do not grudge others for what you dont have.
Single Ghetto Mother says:
March 15, 2010 at 2:28 pmWhen you drive around in a nice vehicle and you shop in brodies, mirabs and those nice places, when yu kids go to nice schools and you live in a nice secure neighborhood and your bread gets buttered generously for doing nothing, what would you know about the spike of violence in Belize if you don´t live it? How can you tell the grieving mothers, wives, children of fallen victims that ¨they have no need to despair¨ or that ¨other countries have worst crime rates than belize¨, what makes you think those are comforting words for we the ones who live out here? I can´t even take my kids to school without looking over my shoulder every minute and hoping a stray bullet don´t come my way. You need to get from out from the fantasy world you and Perdomo live in, and do what your are paid to do or shut up!!!
Well said Ghetto Mother! Well said!
The law was made for the lawless and to protect others from the lawless….Who are these people that are running the court system? are they locals who are suppose to care for their own people? Belize is too small for all this crime, under half a million people country wide, the city itself sixty two thousand. I believe the law enfourcement knows who these criminals are, what is going on? Why are these few being allowed to terrorize the city? There are more killings going on in Belize City on a weekend that in a large city as Chicago ( where I am ) that have 4 million people. Come my people, if the Bahamas can do it we can, with God all things are possible…. We need the love of God, He is the answer for all our woes, we don’t need anything new, God is always there waiting for us to admit our need for Him and his help. Let’s get back to loving one another…..