Department to Roll Out New Strategic Plan

Elodio Aragon Jr.

Firearm offences remain on the rise, as handguns are the weapons of choice for criminals committing various felonies.  The proliferation of guns in the streets of Belize City has caused great concern within the Ministry of Home Affairs.  Not only has that number increased significantly, but those pistols, more often than not, find themselves in the hands of known gang members.  The problem for the Belize Police Department is finding an effective solution to deal with gangs and guns.  Minister of Police Elodio Aragon Junior touched briefly on an upcoming strategy.

Elodio Aragon Jr., Minister of Police

“We all know crime is a major concern for the public, you know, especially when you look at the murders and shooting incidents and gun-related crimes that exist.  We at the police department and especially the Ministry of Police, it is a concern for us that we take seriously.  Yes we’ve had an increase in police officers, men and women on the ground, but we’ve had an increase in the amount of responsibilities that come with the police department.  As our municipalities grow our responsibilities widen, but I do think that when we look at the statistics we would like to see these statistics to be less than what they are today.  What I can tell you is that the ministry and the police department are looking strategically as to how to address this situation and one of our biggest problems right now in this country has to do with gangs and gun-related crimes.  And these are the things that we will tackle with our new strategic plan to address that situation as best as possible, that will bring about a more focused attention to dealing with that issue.  So those plans are definitely being worked on as we speak and we’ll be unveiling that hopefully in February to the media and the public and we hope that with that that will give us a direct impact upon gangs and gun-related crimes.”