And while focussing on creating strong, smart children is one side of the solution, the state also has to focus on the broken men, mostly young men, who create terror with gang violence. One week ago that meant a state of emergency in the Saint Martin's area - arresting dozens of persons police believe to be gang affiliated.
Area Rep Cordel Hyde lamented the fact that with such blanket approaches to crime suppression, innocent people get caught up in the enforcement sweep.
Today we asked the Prime Minister about that:
Daniel Ortiz
"His concern was that innocent people would be caught up in the sweep to try to suppress crime in that community."
Hon. John Briceno - Prime Minister
"I could understand the Deputy Prime Minister's position. He lives in the community. He knows the people intimately in the area. I mean, look at the success that he has been having at the polls. And so, I can understand his frustration. But the Cabinet does support setting up this State of Emergency within that one region because history has shown that whenever in some gang shooting happens, then you see they're just mass shootings out there. they are just going after everybody. In many instances, you have innocent people being killed. I remember the little kid that went to buy ice cream, I think with his dad or his uncle, and he was on a bicycle, and he was shot and then got killed. That little child had no chance to live out his life. And so, I believe that we rather err on the judgment of being extremely cautious, declaring the State of Emergency, and holding things down until things can calm down than not do anything."
Daniel Ortiz
"What do you say to those citizens who feel that they in trying to suppress, the state comes in with the hammer, and everybody gets injured?"
Hon. John Briceno - Prime Minister
"Well, I don't think it is that we're coming with a hammer. We're coming in with a net, where we're just trying to pull them aside and hold them somewhere until things calm down. And to these people that are being caught up innocently, we give a sincere apology because that's not the intention. But I'm sure that the police."
"You realize that one or two people do not belong in there; we let them go. We let them go home. These things will happen, but I rather that would happen than have an innocent person, especially a child, being murdered in the streets of Belize City."
