The Fight Against Crime
The number of crimes in Belize has increased obscenely. Our BPF government will spend more on fighting crime even if it means making sacrifices elsewhere.
Police Force Improvement
Belize needs a strong, well-equipped, well-trained and efficient police force with high morale. Improved pay and conditions will help us to recruit career officers and not just those looking for a job, enabling us to demand more from our Police Force. Police need modernized, international standard equipment to detect crime. This will ease the weight of traffic supervision duties and review cumbersome court procedures which waste police time. We will also review the traffic laws and recommend medical and eye testing as a requirement for licensing a vehicle. Reinforce better management, supervision, adequate road and traffic signs, proper procedures in road construction and providing more traffic lights where needed.
Deterrence through Prevention
Surer detection means surer deterrence. We also need better crime prevention measures and more rigid, more effective sentencing. For violent criminals and thugs, we need tougher court sentences and penalties, even though, in other cases, long prison terms are not always the best deterrent. We want to see a wider variety of sentences available to the courts. To do so, we will therefore, amend the Criminal Justice Act accordingly. This amendment will also limit prison sentences on young adult offenders, revise the Children and Young Persons Act to give magistrates the power to make residential and secure care orders on juveniles.
Compulsory Detention Centres
We need compulsory detention centres for young offenders at junior and senior levels. In certain detention centres we will experiment with a tougher regime as a short, sharp shock for young criminals. For certain types of offenders, we also support the greater use of community service orders, intermediate treatment and attendance centres. Unpaid fines and compensation orders are ineffective. Fines should be assessed to punish the offender within his means and then be backed by effective sanctions (mandatory volunteer labour) for non-payment.
Reinstate Capital Punishment
We will reinstate capital punishment for murder and enact new laws to allow for chemical castration for rapists and paedophiles We believe that murder and rape are destroying our nation and must be dealt with and punished with all the weight of our laws. This will be the ultimate deterrent from violent crimes. The BPF will remain honest to Biblical Principles, especially in the fight against crime!
