UDP Alleges Belize Police Department is Underreporting Major Crimes

The United Democratic Party is accusing the Belize Police Department of underreporting major crimes. The opposition believes that the department has been deliberately altering crime statistics by not classifying the deaths of several persons last year as “murders”. The party alleges that the apparent underreporting is the result of political influence being exerted on the department. Today, Opposition Senator and Former Minister of National Security, Michael Peyrefitte, spoke on the claim and the rationale behind it. 

Michael Peyrefitte, UDP Chairman: “The police department recently released a report citing eighty nine murders for 2024 Yet when we examined the actual data and the records that we have access to and been given access to our research shows that there were actual 97 murders not including ten additional deaths that clearly bear all the hallmarks of murder but which were prematurely and suspiciously as mere death investigations. A per capita of 24 plus murders per 100,000 is not an insignificant increase from 2023 when it was 21 per 100,000. This discrepancy is not just a minor clerical error, it is a serious issue. The very trust that we as a community place in our law enforcement agencies is being undermined. These manipulated figures do not only serve to obscure the reality of violence in our streets but they also deprive the public of the knowledge necessary to demand real action. When our community is not fully informed about the level of danger we face how can we ever hope to create solutions that address the root of the problem ? How can we hold the system accountable for it’s failures if we are not given the truth ?”

According to Peyrefitte, another such instance of the police manipulating crime statistics concerns the department’s methodology when it comes to documenting robberies.

Michael Peyrefitte, UDP Chairman: “Any robbery or burglary under $5,000 is not counted in their statistics. And when you check the statistics most burglaries and most robberies have a value of les than $5,000 so when they tell you that so many robberies and burglaries take place, violent crimes or crimes that can lead to violence you are not getting the true picture of what the actual numbers are. We must and we will demand transparency. Our police department must release full and accurate statistics and they must explain discrepancies when the arise. The public deserves to know what is happening in our neighborhoods. We will push for legislation that mandates accurate reporting of crime statistics especially regarding violent crimes like murder, burglaries, and robbery. Anything less is a disservice of the people we have sworn to protect.”

Peyrefitte also called for the resignation of the Minister of Home Affairs Kareem Musa and Commissioner of Police Chester Williams.