Fifteen fewer murders in the first half of 2023 – can we get final count below 100 for the year?

Published by BBNTEAM at July 17, 2023

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Posted: Monday, July 17, 2023. 5:02 pm CST.

By Aaron Humes: By the count of the Belize Crime Observatory (BCO) of the Ministry of Home Affairs, there have been 15 fewer murders, a total of 44, reported in 2023 compared to the mid-point of 2022 when there were 59.

In four of the first six months of 2023, there were fewer murders compared to the same month in 2022 – January, down from 12 to 4, and in April, May, and June. There were the same number of murders in February, eight, and one more in March.

The second quarter (April, May, and June) saw 25 murders reported compared to last year’s 33 in the same period.

24 murders were recorded in the Belize District, down 12 from 2022; nine in the Cayo District, down two; five each in Orange Walk and Stann Creek Districts, one in Corozal, and none in Toledo.

Police have so far arrested 18 persons for this year’s murders, down four from last year’s 22 arrests in 59 murder cases.

There have been 101 total shooting incidents, down 26 from last year, including 51 in the Belize District, down 32 from last year.

In the second half of 2022, there were 54 murders reported as observed by the BCO: 11 in July, three in August, 13 in September, seven in October, nine in November, and eleven in December. A similar pace in 2023 would put the country at 98 murders, short of the century mark for the first time in over a decade.

There have already been four murders for the month of July at its halfway mark this year, including Jahfeth Stamp, Gabriel Tillett, Rosita Olivera, and earlier this morning, Jasmine Domingo, though the last is pending police confirmation. This makes the unofficial count 48 as of today, Monday.

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