Citizen Security is Once Again at the Forefront of Public Discourse

Kareem Musa

In the wake of Easter Sunday’s deadly home invasion in the Kontiki area of San Ignacio, citizen security is once again at the center of public discourse.  Notwithstanding a decrease in the number of homicides and other violent crimes when compared to the same period in 2022, the feeling of one’s personal safety is being called to question.  For many, the murder of seventy-two-year-old William Maxwell Smith drives home the fact that they are not always safe inside their homes or on their properties.  Minister of Home Affairs Kareem Musa offered a unique perspective on citizen security, as well as the ubiquity of amateur videos that show these heinous crimes being committed.

Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs

“I’ve had the opportunity, I mean, growing up in Belize and seeing the crime trends, there’s been an evolution, so to speak, and everybody, I mean you’re sitting here, Paul is sitting here, both of you are on your phones seeing videos on the daily, of crime situations.  Ten, fifteen years ago you never actually saw crimes that were committed and so if a home invasion or a murder happened or a robbery happen, you did not put yourself into the shoes of the individuals that are actually going through that.  And so, I think that in terms of the media, in terms of social media, and us being in tuned with it now, what is happening, I think that definitely heightens the sense of what is taking place because, as you rightly said, the numbers are down but we don’t necessarily feel safe and that has a lot to do with the fact that we are seeing it and so you live it now.  And that, to me, is one of the key differences in terms of twenty years ago, you would never have seen murders happening right before your very eyes and in such seriously heinous fashion, and so I think that is the main difference that has taken place.  But, in the first quarter, again, if you look at the statistics, it is down compared to last year which is a record year.  So the trends have been going down.”