Multi-Sectoral Approach to Crime Fighting and Prevention Introduced to U.W.I. Students

The University of the West Indies Open Campus, in collaboration with the Department of Youth Services and the Belize Police Department, hosted a presentation today on crime prevention and crime control. Deputy Commissioner of Police, Doctor Richard Rosado, and Kevin Cadle, the Director of the Department of Youth Services led the presentation. They introduced the Leadership Intervention Unit, as well as the multi-sectoral approach to crime fighting and crime prevention to a group of U.W.I. students. We spoke with Doctor Rosado following the event.

Richard Rosado

Dr. Richard Rosado, Deputy Commissioner of Police

“The multi-sectoral plan, it is a, we refer to it as a all of government, all of community approach. And we believe that once it is official launched across the country, because it will, at the moment we’re only implementing certain aspect of the plan, and once it is launched, we believe that it’ll address all the city, all the dynamics within the different communities. We are going across the country. In fact, we just went last night establishing a community council who will basically be spearheading the initiatives in the multi-sectoral plan. While some of the guys that are involved in skills training; some of them are involved in temporary work employment. Some of them are involved in developing marketable skills. They are in an effort for them to be able to become entrepreneurs, and I believe the last graduation that we had at the Tubal, the Minister of Former Affairs has already said that the government will provide a startup for them to be able to start their own business, and I think it is, it is a good initiative because now they’ll become entrepreneurs and we want to promote that. We want to develop their marketable skills so that we increase the opportunity cost of committing a crime because if the opportunity cost is increased, the likelihood of them committing a crime will decrease.”