From July to August of 2006, there were 27 murders in Belize City; for that same period this year, there have been 37. It’s a sharp increase, and it’s been most pronounced in the past three weeks which have seen 8 murders in the city. And it’s more than just a policing issue; it’s also a public relations issue and a political issue. And if you don’t believe that it’s political, check the headlines in the party papers today: both address the sudden upsurge in violent crime, each predictably pinning the blame on the other.
And it’s against that backdrop that the police senior command held a press conference today. Mind you, police press conferences are nothing new, but we haven’t seen one on the scale of today’s event for some time, probably not since the days of past COMPOL Ornel Brooks in the mid 90’s. Jules Vasquez found out why it was such a big deal to send out the right message, right about now.
Jules Vasquez Reporting,
The entire senior command gathered to make a unified showing as if to say, that if only through force of will, they will do something to control the upsurge in violent crime in the city. In a prepared statement, the Commissioner stressed that even though it might not seem that way, they’re very busy.
Gerald Westby, Commissioner of Police
“A lot has been said of late regarding the senseless incidents of murder that continue to plague the streets of Belize City and the negative impact it has brought to this city as well as the fear it has instilled in the residents. What cannot be said however is that the police are doing nothing to address this issue. We are here today to offer the general public the fullest assurance that much is being done to address this vexing issue.”
And much was said, the press conference went on for an hour and a half with members of the senior command outlining the 5 year policing plan, the current operational plan, crime statistics, and gang violence de-escalation. Police say they need to get all this information out, basically to vault the public relations effort:
Maureen Leslie, Deputy Commissioner of Police
“People need to know these things because sometimes we take a packing
on talk shows and people don’t know the facts of the department.”
But the facts that people do know is that the number of murders soared in August and made Belize City a very deadly place to live. But be consoled, not as deadly as Jamaica – the 2005 murder capital of the world.
Sr. Supt. James Magdaleno, Commander - NCIB
“In 2006 there were 824 murders and 837 shooting incidents reported in Jamaica and 935 murders and 900 shootings reported in 2007. So what I am saying is we are not doing bad.”
Not doing badly, but it’s been a pretty bad few weeks, still Deputy Commissioner Leslie says that a lot of the crime we’ve been seeing is seasonal.
Maureen Leslie,
“In any policing, in any department, in any police force we have what we call peak periods in crimes and we know for a fact from history that the August month is one of those peak periods because people are looking forward to the September celebrations and the criminals they need cash, they need substance to pass on to their loved ones to dress and bling bling and everything else.”
But according to the CIB boss, Superintendent Aaron Guzman, it’s not bling bling that’s been causing all that bang bang in the past month. From August first to September fourth, there have been 10 murders.
Supt. Aaron Guzman, CIB Commander
“Of the ten murders, our intelligence unit and investigation section have drawn the conclusion that 7 of those murders are gang related. Of the ten murders, we have made arrests in five of them.”
And while police expect to make arrests for two more shortly, they are also launching an aggressive street patrol campaign with special emphasis on so called hotspots.
Sr. Supt. Chester Williams, Deputy Commander – Eastern Division
“We have identified all the basic hot areas and we are working very
hard, night and day, trying to contain the situation. I am not even sleeping, to be truthful I don’t sleep. Sometimes I go home very late at night and am back out early in the morning because I want to see that the police officers are deployed out in these respective areas.”
Crispin Jeffries Sr., Assistant Commissioner of Police
“People in the Collet Division, especially in the areas between Magazine Road right through to Central American Boulevard, the area between Cemetery Road right through to the river, will see a concentration, a heavier concentration of police while other areas will get routine coverage. The area bounded by Cemetery Road to Orange Street, right through to Racecourse Street bounded by Amara Avenue and up to East Canal and sections of Albert Street will also see a higher concentration of police because these are the two areas that we believe the rival groups are coming out of and targeting each other.”
Sr. Supt. Chester Williams,
“Some of areas per say like the Mayflower Area, we have identified many of the shooters as coming out of the Mayflower area. We have no posted police officers at all the strategic locations. We are not saying that the police presence will stop the crime totally but it will certainly contain the situation.”
A situation which is a gang situation but then, not really a gang situation.
Gerald Westby,
“Certainly we do not have comparatively speaking like what you have the MS-13 in Salvador. The issue had been addressed Jules like what we had many many years ago but there are still people that are loosely, they are not so organized or structured like the MS-13, but they are loosely organized and they hang out together, they gravitate to each other, and these people are what you are seeing the spin-off.”
Sr. Supt. Chester Williams,
“I will agree with the Commissioner that we do not have what you call gangs in Belize. We have some loosely organized young people who seemingly do not have the correct ways and means to settle their differences. The recent increase in gun violence on the street of Belize City is from a previous killing.”
And police say they have an overall strategy to contain the violence and foster dialogue.
Gerald Westby,
“We must be discipline out there, we are not criminals and we will not back off from that. We are using a carrot and stick approach. We will lick you hard, the criminals who want to continue wanton violence but at the same time we extend for those in the intervention program.”
To bolster that intervention program, police have teamed up with Youth for the Future and brought veteran at risk youth counselor Douglas Hyde on board.
Youth for the Future had been working with three of the young men killed in the recent gang violence and with one of those accused of murder. Since the start of this year, there have been 67 murders countrywide, compared to 55 for the same period last year. Police also revealed that since 2002, 927 licensed firearms have been reported missing or stolen, 77 of them since January of this year.
