The People’s United Party believes that the crime situation in Belize must be addressed urgently and if positive results are to occur, there is need for meaningful participation from all relevant sectors of Belizean Society.

The People’s United Party is represented on the CCC by Ms Lisa Shoman. The Opposition therefore, strongly protests that we were not invited to attend and participate in the launch of the Crimes Control Comprehensive National Plan.

It is the position of the PUP that the Comprehensive National Plan, which was approved by Cabinet, falls far short of what is required for the crime situation in Belize to be seriously addressed.

With respect to the proposal for the establishment of a gun court, the PUP is concerned about the capacity of an already overcrowded and underfunded court system to manage the establishment of yet another court. Additional funding and staff would be needed to provided and maintain a gun court. No justification has been provided, or any study done to show that the current court system is unable or is failing to deal with gun offenses. It is the position of the PUP that the Bar Association and all stakeholders must be fully consulted before the establishment of any gun court.

The PUP views with concern the proposal for the management of Operation Jobs & Clean. The decision that the Crimes Control Council will partner with the Belize City Council who will administer a jobs programme, to be funded through tax payer funds along with private sector donations is of concern because of the potential for political divisiveness. There are other ways in which the government, through the Ministry of Human Development or other responsible departments could better administrate such a programme with greater transparency and accountability.

At the last sitting of the House of Representatives the Leader of the Opposition and PUP Leader the Hon. John Briceño proposed a number of recommendations to address the crime situation and the root causes thereof, which was submitted formally to the Crimes Control Council. Foremost among these was the establishment of a Super Fund—a significant amount of public and private funds to deal with the social and economic concerns of poverty as well as to provide resources for effective law enforcement. Another proposal included using the community outreach component of the South Side Project to seek additional budgetary support. Also included in the recommendations was an increase in funding for education for young persons in at-risk communities and the establishment of a re-entry programme for youth offenders to re-enter society and transform their lives by becoming law abiding citizens. It is disappointing that although these proposals were presented to the Council, none were included in the Crimes Control Council’s Comprehensive National Plan.

Despite a Crimes Control Council National Plan which now falls short of a serious road map to address crime and violence in Belize, and notwithstanding the lack of a holistic approach to this most critical issue, the PUP will continue as a member of the Crimes Control Council and will continue to advocate for the implementation of more serious measures to seriously address crime and the preservation of law and order in Belize.