Major Crimes are Down, Except for Murder

Aside from murder and unlawful sexual intercourse, major crimes have decreased in 2024 compared to the same period from January to September last year. This morning, the Minister of Home Affairs, the Commissioner of Police, and the top brass of the Belize Police Department convened to review the latest crime statistics and develop strategies to further reduce these numbers. Since January, there have been seventy-one recorded murders and one hundred and eighteen reported robberies. Additionally, incidents of burglary, theft, and rape have also declined. Commissioner of Police Williams presented these encouraging figures to his colleagues in the department.

 

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police

“I put together a presentation, an overall presentation where I outlined to the officers where we are so far for this year, where we have been at the end of each quarter, outline to them how we got to where we are, and I also told them in my presentation what I want us to do collectively, together for the rest of the year so that we would be able to defeat the numbers for last year.  I am extremely passionate about what I do, saving the lives of Belizeans is important to me and as I said to them, we finished the month of September with three murders above last year’s figures around the same time.  My objective is for us to work our butts off for the rest of this year to defeat the number for last year which was eighty-seven.  So, in other words, we’re at seventy-one murders right now, that puts us at sixteen below last year’s figure and I am pleading to my commanders for us to work together in order for us to be able to defeat that sixteen so that we can end up with either eighty-seven or less murders.  I also outlined to them the strategies that I want us to do to be able to ensure that we would be in a position to defeat the numbers.”