Belizeans React to Crime Spike in Old Capital

There’s been a concerning spike in violent crimes over the past month, with several murders occurring within the same week. This rise has been linked to the growing tensions between rival gangs in Belize City, prompting the Belize Police Department to increase police presence in affected areas. On Tuesday, Commissioner of Police, Dr. Richard Rosado, returned to his post following a Police Inquiry Report into the Budna investigation. And, while there has been no official announcement of a State of Emergency, many citizens are raising questions about what is being done to safeguard citizen security. Today, we took to the streets of Belize City to hear from residents about how safe they feel in their communities.

 

Britney Gordon

“Do you feel safe in your community right now? And what would make you feel safer?”

 

Belize City Resident 1

 ”Not really. There’s a lot of crime happening, but I think we need like increased police patrol, like foot police walking around, especially where business places are. We have a restaurant right up the street, so we always have to be vigilant. And but yeah, you see the mobile pass up and down, like more foot patrol and stuff. And then neighbors have to come together. People have to come together and say what they see. People are afraid, but to your neighbor like my neighbor just messaged me and told me that he wants us to have a little neighborhood thing whereby everybody get each other number so if we see something happening in someone’s yard, we can always call them. I could call my neighbor, he could call me. And that’s the only way, like basically we can protect.”

 

Belize City Resident 2

“Right now inna the community, you can’t even be safe right now. Nobody feel safe right now. As you turn, bullet di fire right now. And the government DI do nothing fi try solve the problem.”

 

 

 

 

Britney Gordon

“Weh you think ney coulda do fi improve your community?”

Belize City Resident 2

“The government need fi got wa program in place and so. But the government halla we wa got program and noh got the program and things change up. If you have the police itself, they involve inna high crime, like in terms of kidnapping people and so what you expect the ordinary Belizean fi di they do.”

 

Belize City Resident 3

“Yes, I feel safe in my community. I feel safe in the entire country of Belize.”

 

 

Britney Gordon

“And why exactly is that?”

 

Belize City Resident 3

“Because compared to other countries around us, country in the world. To be exact, they give a bad rap. Like a bad name. Belize is a safe country. When you can see your Prime Minister and all the ministers of government walk around. In other countries that cannot happen.”

 

Britney Gordon

“But have you observed that there’s been a little bit of increase in crime recently, especially between gang groups?”

 

Belize City Resident 3

“Everywhere you go in the world there is crime and there are bigger country than us, that have more crime than the entire country of Belize. So I wouldn’t base it as an unsafe country.”

 

Belize City Resident 1

“Mein ih feel bad. I have a son, I have a fifteen-year-old son, and I’m like behind him every day because I’m scared to even let him walk home. Like most days I go for him. I go and pick him up. He wants to walk with his friends, but it’s scary. It’s so scary because bullet noh have no name. So you know it’s just scary.”

 

Voice of: Belize City Resident 4

“We noh feel safe ya because we all the shooting, the killing and like how we have pikni. I want ney do wa lee betta fi stop all the shooting and killing and ney thing. Lotta thing the happe right now. You know how that feel. Pikni di dead, baby di dead. And you can’t walk anywhere right now. You feel bad. You walk and you no know weh wa happen.”

 

 

 

 

Los Lagos Resident

“I live in Los Lagos, and I noh really have no problem in a part of the neighborhood where I live in Los Lagos.”

 

 

Britney Gordon

“But is the recent increase in crime a concern to you as a citizen?”

 

Los Lagos Resident

“Yes, it is a concern.”

 

Britney Gordon

“So what would you like to see done to address it?”

 

Los Lagos Resident

“The youths coming up have to have more discipline for them.”

 

Belize City Resident 2

“I don’t think SOE work. You a have SOE and by the time the man ney go back at prison, the man ney is still frustrated and the man ney come back out and do the same thing. The same shooting happen. So you need fi make sure that the government, well, the government needs to make sure they put thing in place weh you could deal with dey crime ya. You can’t wait till when the crime happened and say, oh, we got an SOE. SOE noh solve the problem. We see even when we have SOE as the man ney come out, the crime happened back still.”