Police Release Crime Stats, But Media Shut Out of CompStat Briefing

The Belize Police Department released its first set of crime statistics for 2025 on Thursday, figures pulled from the department’s CompStat report. Normally, these numbers are presented in Belmopan, followed by a Q&A where the media can press the Minister of Home Affairs and the Commissioner of Police on the details. But this year… that didn’t happen. The media wasn’t invited, meaning no questions, no clarifications, and no public scrutiny of the data. What we do know is that major crimes dipped by about one percent, and road fatalities also saw a decline. Tonight, News Five’s Britney Gordon takes a closer look at what the numbers really tell us.

 

Britney Gordon, Reporting

Every year, Belizeans expect a rundown of the previous year’s crime numbers, usually delivered through the police department’s CompStat presentation. It’s where officers break down the stats, review their performance, and, importantly, face questions from the media. But not this year. The media wasn’t invited, shutting down the only chance to press the Minister of Home Affairs and the Commissioner of Police on the figures. And the irony? Commissioner Dr. Richard Rosado has repeatedly stressed that these presentations are meant to promote transparency and accountability.

 

Dr. Richard Rosado, Commissioner of Police

“I trust that we do not take Compstat as a routine. But as something that is important for institutional growth, professional accountability, and collective progress. In this context, compstat remains a cornerstone of our transformation, reinforcing accountability, enabling data driven planning and evaluation and management of operational strategies as police officers.”

 

The CompStat report shows major crimes dipped by just one percent last year, from one thousand, ninety-eight cases to one thousand, eighty-six. Murder, burglary, theft, and unlawful sexual intercourse all saw small declines. But burglaries are still the country’s biggest headache, with five hundred and ninety-seven cases, slightly down from six hundred and one. And while some categories fell, police flagged a troubling spike in thefts, robberies, and break-ins that turned deadly, including the murders of Sarita deliverymen Raynard Garbutt and Robert Crawford. Police have charged forty-nine-year-old Harry Nathaniel Trapp in that case. Meanwhile, Minister of Home Affairs Oscar Mira praised investigators, noting that officers made three hundred and eighty-seven arrests in 2025.

 

Oscar Mira, Minister of Home Affairs

“In the past few weeks and especially on the last few days of the year we had some robbers turn murder. In Belmopan itself, we had a murder that really shook us all the residents of Belmopan. We had the incidents on murders that happened on South ISF Pomona. But hard work, dedication by the police department, and those investigators have resulted in positive arrests and charges. And that is something I think that we have to ensure that the public understands we have the capacity and we are working hard to solve those issues.”

 

According to the report, unlawful sexual intercourse fell by twenty-eight percent with thirty-eight cases reported in comparison to fifty-three in 2024. Of these thirty-eight reports, eighteen arrests have been made. Dr. Rosado shares his vision for the department moving forward, highlighting preventative policing methods

 

Dr. Richard Rosado, Commissioner of Police

“It affirms our determination to build a police service defined by accountability, guided by ethical leadership, and to sustain by public confidence. Honoring that commitment requires more than revised policies. It demands expanded capability. Strategic foresight and a shared vision of excellence. The era of a reactive, fragmented, and silo policing must now give way to a modern global standard. A standard where public safety is increasingly driven by intelligence, interoperability, and insight.”

 

The report also shows a major drop in traffic deaths, from one hundred and twenty-six to ninety-four, with most fatal crashes happening in the west. Last year, the Home Affairs and Transport ministries teamed up to crack down on traffic offenses, and the numbers hint that it made a difference. Motorcycles were involved in more than twenty-eight percent of crashes, while private vehicles made up nearly half. At the CompStat briefing, CEO Elton Bennett said better planning and smarter use of police resources are key to keeping those numbers down.

 

Elton Bennett, Chief Executive Officer, Ministry of Home Affairs

“Whilst visiting around and interacting with the different offices. I ask one question over and over. What is your budget and how do you implement it? In the performance of your duty, and most of, in fact, all of the officers were very confident in saying, we know we have a budget and we always get support in what we need, as though they know the money is there, but can you really plan?”

 

Mira encouraged each member of the department to reflect on the work that they do in keeping Belize safe and face the challenges of the job with pride.

 

Oscar Mira

“It is easy to quantify statistics. It is easy to measure the numbers of robberies that happen. It’s easy to measure the number of murders that happen. What is not easy, and we can’t quantify is how many have we prevented? We can’t do that, and therefore nobody, not the public, not the media. But ourselves, really look at what we have prevented.”

 

As the Police Department prepares for its usual first‑quarter CompStat briefing, the media is insisting on being included to ensure the kind of accountability and transparency the public expects. Britney Gordon for News Five.