But what's the plan to change those mindsets?
Well, Dawson and Rosado say it will have to be a multi-sectoral collaboration involving all relevant agencies. Here's how they broke it down on last night's UNCUT:
William Dawson, Chairman, LIU
"We collaborated with the department of youth services and the University of Belize to do a family needs survey. It was important to get into the homes in the most impoverished areas, which I believe was really lacking to sit and interview and hear and find out what is happening in these homes and that's a key component and so once you understand that there is a great need, an urgency to look at how it is that you can assist in this regard and have agencies, the necessary agencies, social services, human development, women's department, look at what they can do the chamber of commerce, the churches, how it is that all of us can come together and bring resources, bring support, provide positive reinforcement promoting pro-social behavior, that tis the first step forward also making sure that this is not a political program because you can't play politics with people's lives. It's the politics that have in my opinion enabled this type of environment and lifestyle."
DCP Dr. Richard Rosado, Executive Director, LIU
"We share the view that the crime situation has to be viewed from a political context in terms of economic circumstances and development and social development programs have to be an integral part of the equation. When we stop and discuss how we are going to move forward to the initial stage, the first stage is we need to identify our guiding thrusts: The multi-sectoral collaboration, the reform, and the smart policing."
The LIU's three tiers consist of programs that focus on situational and environmental factors, programs that focus on individuals more likely to commit a crime, and finally enforcement within the criminal justice system.
