Additional Police Presence Doesn’t Address Root of Crime Situation

Cordel Hyde

In the aftermath of the beheading of Pastor Llewellyn Lucas, Minister Saldivar announced that more police officers are being deployed into the streets of Belize City, in light of the ongoing problem of crime and violence.  While additional boots on the ground will provide a sense of security for residents of the Old Capital, it does little to address the root cause of the issue.  The problem, according to Deputy Party Leader Cordel Hyde, stems from abject poverty and poor social conditions affecting inner city youths.

Cordel Hyde, Deputy Leader, P.U.P.

“If you listen to the Minister of National Security on Monday, it’s the same old solutions to a very serious problem.  We’re talking about hundreds of lives that have been lost on the south side and their solution is more boots on the ground.  They boast that they’ve added eight hundred and fifty additional police officers since 2012, half of those have been deployed to Belize City.  All the equipment in the world they boast of in terms of getting for the police, so the police [are] better equipped but yet and still this problem persists.  The problem is not a political one.  Crime and violence is not a political problem, it’s a national problem.  It goes beyond red and blue and we as a people have to get serious about that but we have to hold the government accountable.  The government is responsible for apportioning the budget of this country.  You’re talking about a billion dollars each year; you’re talking about eight million dollars over the last eight years.  You’re talking about three hundred and twenty-five million dollars from Petrocaribe and yet and still the CDB and the World Bank are saying to us that there is more poverty today than when the U.D.P. took over eight years ago.”