“Fighting crime requires collective action,” says National Security Minister

By BBN Staff: In his Christmas message to Belize, Minister of National Security, John Saldivar, called on society at large to take a collaborative approach to make Belize safer by addressing the root causes of crime.

“Over the last few decades, there has been a steady breakdown in the family structure that has produced individuals who place very little value on their own life and the lives of those around them. This breakdown has also produced individuals with very little coping skills and limited to almost none existent social skills and especially, conflict resolution skills,” Saldivar said.

He noted that those individuals have little conflict resolution skills and settle disputes with violence and murder. He went on to say that the ultimate solution to this problem will take more than police efforts but rather collective action by society. Saldivar emphasized that the police will continue to do what they can and that the ministry will continue supporting and equipping them, but that more also needs to be done at a government level to address the root causes of crime.

“We must revisit what we are doing to help ‘at-risk’ families. We must give these families a hand up and not a handout. We must create social programs that provide continuous guidance and support to families as they struggle to raise their children. We must ensure once and for all that every child is in school, no matter the cost because the cost to society when that child becomes a criminal is unquantifiable. We must adjust our school curriculum to emphasize coping skills, social skills, conflict resolution skills, and emphasize the value of life and living,” Saldivar added.

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