Opposition Leader Slams Government for Crime Rate

Following the state of emergency declaration, the Leader of the Opposition, slammed the government for what he describes as having no solution to the increasing crime rate. This afternoon, Shyne Barrow also said his party has been suggesting a change at the helm of the police department for quite some time. He pointed to the increase in murder rate, compared to last year, and criticized the Commissioner of Police for blaming the Trinibad concert for the recent gun violence. 

 

Moses “Shyne” Barrow, Leader of the Opposition

“You have the commissioner of police blaming music as the reason for the current state of emergency. It is music now. It is concerts. It is a DJ Trinibad. He’s the reason that people are killing people, please. This is the reason that Chester has to go. There has been a 45 percent increase in the murder rate. We have 58 murders already, from January to June, whereas last year we had about 40 or maybe 45.  And so we have a significant increase in the murder rate. The United Democratic Party has been saying for the last few years that the Prime Minister needed to make adjustments in the Ministry of Police and We stay by that. We have been saying that Chester Williams has reached his expiration date. Milk tastes good, but after a certain date, it is useless. And we are seeing that with the Ministry of Police. They completely lack leadership. They lack leadership. The competence at the two most important positions, which is the ministry, the minister of police, and the commissioner of police. And what we see in Chester Williams is just a defense attorney for the Government of Belize. There is no accountability, there is no willingness to accept shortcomings, there is no willingness to work with stakeholders.”