Kareem Musa: “Belize has a long walk back” in crime crisis

Published by BBNTEAM at October 23, 2022

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Posted: Sunday, October 23, 2022. 9:47 pm CST.

By Aaron Humes: Minister of Home Affairs, Kareem Musa, responded to Leader of the Opposition Moses “Shyne” Barrow at the recent House meeting that yes, Belize has a crime crisis – a long-standing one, one that took years to develop and will hopefully not take as many to solve.

Musa, chastising Barrow for using the issue as a “political football,” argued, “This is not an easy fix, Member. This is not about band-aid fixes. This is about the long walk back. You rightly pointed out – it’s forty-one years that it has taken us to this point, but you gave us this broken vehicle. Your party gave us this and you want us to fix it within a year, when in fact, it will take time. And you know that; deep down you know that. You understand that. This is a big problem.”

Musa pointed out that 29 gangs exist in Southside Belize City alone, all sprung up in the UDP’s tenure, and so “Crime is not just a policing issue.”

And as he reminded, it is a multi-sectoral issue: “To be able to reach out to my Cabinet colleagues and to know that they are going to answer that call – the Minister of Education has answered that call, offering forty scholarships to at-risk youth at ITVET. The Minister of Youth and Sports Rodwell Ferguson has participated in so many training activities for young people because we know we have to break the cycle.”

He noted that of the last eleven murders to date, nine had taken place outside Belize City, and so the strategy not only involves the Old Capital but village and community leaders, of which he cited those in Dangriga. Of the 103 illegal firearms removed from the streets this year, 18 were found in San Pedro Town and 13 in Orange Walk Town.

And change must also occur inside the Police Department, with the removal of “bad apples” and the institution of new, idea-focused, dedicated officers who have a modern understanding of policing.

Musa also paid tribute to the late Constable Lorray Arzu, who was a graduate of 2021’s Squad 95, the first he had overseen as Minister, and said that the Department mourns her loss.

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