Murder Count Up in 2024

There have been nine additional murders so far in 2024 when compared to the same period in 2023. As we reported, last year saw a decrease in the number of murders recorded compared to previous years. But is 2024 turning out to be the complete opposite? And what is the Commissioner of Police doing about it? Here is what he told us today.

 

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police

“Yes we are hoping that we will be able to level off by the end of the second quarter. So far for this year, murders are up by nine compared to last year, but when you compare it to previous years we are still down. Last year was a good year. What we will need to do is go to the drawing board, look at the area, and in this case the area of concern is rural Belize District. Nine of the murders in the eastern division occurred in rural Belize. So, we have to find a way that we will be able to address these types of crime. But when we also look at the motive behind these murders, many of them were social settings or the domestic settings, but the gang related murders were still down tremendously and we want to make sure that going further into the year that we can keep it down. When you look at the overall crime outlook, major crime is down by twenty-two percent compared to last year. So as much as last year was a good year, we are still seeing that major crime is down for this year and we want to make sure we continue that trend for the rest of the year.”