Police Cannot Fight Crime Alone, “It’s a Whole of Society Approach” 

Three people were killed in Belize City in about 24 hours. Gang rivalries and turf wars are being blamed, which has prompted the Ministry of National Security to discuss possible changes to crime-fighting strategies with police leaders.

Chief Executive Officer Francis Usher says the Ministry met with Commissioner of Police and members of his operations and intelligence teams on Saturday, following the killings between Friday and the early hours of Saturday morning.

“The root cause, without getting into too much detail, there are some rivalries between gangs, turf wars, etc. So we have to analyse what is the root cause of that,” Usher told News 5.

He said the discussions focused on potential adjustments to police strategy, but stressed that law enforcement cannot be expected to tackle the country’s crime problem alone.

“The police department cannot be the only department in the crime prevention strategy. It’s a whole of society approach. It’s a whole of government approach,” Usher said.

Usher argued that crime prevention must also address socioeconomic conditions, with multiple government ministries working together on longer-term solutions while responding to immediate security threats.

Usher said the Saturday meeting included discussions about the recent violence and possible shifts in strategy to help reduce further incidents. He did not detail the specific changes being considered.

“There’s no linchpin. There’s no one person or two people that are the main people in national security. We work together as a team,” he said.