Belize murder rate slows down; can we keep it going?

Published by BBNTEAM at September 2, 2024

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Posted: Monday, September 2, 2024. 7:28 pm CST.

By Aaron Humes: In our last update, we reported that a quiet July and August was needed to ensure that the number of murders did not touch 100 for a second straight year.

And while there were not zero murders reported across the country, the eight that were is much less than the 21 seen last year.

With the killing of Otoniel Perez Mateo on September 1, Belize stands unofficially at 66 murders through that date – two behind last year’s pace of 68 through the end of September.

If there are as many murders in the last trimester of 2024 as there were in 2023 – 22 – Belize would finish with 88 murders, slightly ahead of last year’s pace.

A key factor is the end of the State of Emergency on September 24 and whether the lessons learned in prison will take, as well as the work of the Leadership Intervention Unit (LIU) and community activists in ensuring peace in the hotspots for violent crime.

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