Leadership Intervention Unit Initiatives Yields Positives Results in Troubled Communities

The Leadership Intervention Unit (L.I.U.) has played a key role in the Government of Belize’s crime fighting strategy, particularly within south side Belize City. The L.I.U. has introduced a number of transformative programs into communities riddled with gang violence and internal feuds.  And, those initiatives have yielded significant results, according to Williams Dawson, the chairman of L.I.U. According to Dawson, members of rival groups are now approaching the unit to request mediation. 

William Dawson

William Dawson, Chairman, L.I.U.

“One of the great strides we have made is brining the young men to the table. We have seen that they are the ones calling for intervention now. They want to sit down and trash it out. One of the greatest thing we have been focusing on is on the family, the importance of the family. So, when you have young men and women from these communities who for their entire lives have been exposed to violent behavior, getting them to sit down and air out their differences is something new. They reality do see the need for it and it might sound crazy but it makes a whole lot of difference especially for our young men, for them to be able to understand how to express themselves and understand emotional intelligence, that every situation does not have to be solved violently. And so, you have been seeing these results. Besides that, we have community councils we have developed. We have people like Ms. Olga Gordon, Timmy Stamp, Sticks, Footy Gongora, the Port innovators, the Belama Upliftment Group that consist of community members. So we are looking at the community to take care of the community. Like minister said, crime is suppose to be a police issue but it is all of our business and a lot of criminal issues have been bred by the community not speaking up against the violence that is happening in their communities.”