The shooting of Jimmy Rojas on Saturday led to three brazen daylight murders this week alone. But according to new Commissioner of Police Dr Richard Rosado, the gang violence began escalating since the murder of Brandon Baptist back in January. He used that as the backdrop to declare that it had gotten to a critical point that necessitated an SOE. But this won't be like the other states of emergencies - its geographic footprint is the largest and it could be the longest one yet.
But how long can you legally lock up civilians without levying charges and taking them to court? Is the police department violating their human rights? And would a six month state of emergency actually help solve the problem?
We asked attorney Richard "Dickie" Bradley for his thoughts. Courtney Menzies has this story.
The geographically largest state of emergency has been enacted, encompassing parts of Belize City, areas in rural Belize, including Ladyville and other communities along the George Price Highway, and areas in the Cayo District.
But the new Commissioner of Police is lobbying for this to also be the longest state of emergency - he wants to extend it to six months.
Dr. Richard Rosado, Commissioner of Police
"I am lobbying for, I believe that one month will not suffice, two months will not suffice and we must start off at six months at the very least. But at any case there must be some drastic measures to be taken."
Under a state of emergency, police officers are given free rein to round up persons they classify as gang members and throw them in prison without any due process. The legality of this - particularly as it relates to the human rights of those locked up - have been called into question before.
According to attorney Richard "Dickie" Bradley, most Belizeans don't seem to concerned about that part of it.
Richard "Dickie" Bradley, Attorney
"In Jamaica they have challenged the government's use of states of emergencies to lock up human beings and their Supreme Court has said it is unconstitutional. The government has appealed it in Jamaica. In Belize we don't seem particularly concerned about the legal niceties. And so then what you have here is, we started off with a state of emergency for one month and give them another month next time when it's getting a way, now we have gone to three months, a lot of people are suing, and this major, this is a major development in our little, young, pocotiempo democracy that the official in charge of enforcing law and order, the police law says that they are to keep us safe, they are to do their best to keep us safe, if he says that we're wasting our time with a little one month, three month, we need to start off at six, that is on the one hand, an admittance of failure to have a crime fighting plan."
He added that a six month SOE is just a bandaid solution, and can actually make the problem a lot worse.
Richard "Dickie" Bradley, Attorney
"At the end of six months, we'll have some real angry people. Really really angry. These times they come out and they blow off steam and they will do this and do that but now we are declaring an illegal war against - not criminals because they haven't even been charged. Right now I think there is almost 70 people who are locked up. This is what Belize is becoming too, that we will always have this crime problem because crime is the result of what is called socioeconomic conditions."
"I am open to being convinced that any human being who is grabbed and thrown in jail for 6 months out of his life will come out and say, well I hung out with the wrong crowd and I got what I deserved. All of them won't think so. And it is another way of breeding another type of problem, one that we're helping to create."
"If the solution to crime was to just take people and lock them up, the world would be crime free. Just lock up any and all of them, you see that one, he's a criminal, just lock him up. That is clearly not a solution."
And he reminded the public the extent to which the police and the government are willing to go:
Richard "Dickie" Bradley, Attorney
"When the state is saying I will just pick you up and lock you up, I don't have to give you any charge or tell you anything, I will just say you are gang members, 6 months? We had the last one where a 14 year old was locked up and they tried to keep it secret and there was also a 16 year old who was locked up and they were able to keep that away from the media, a 16 year old was in jail for 3 months and his mom told me that after 2 months or so they came back with a foolish charge and took him back to jail."
"I'm saying that to show you the extent to which the system is prepared to go to lock up people against whom there is no evidence to support the allegation."
"Really we need to do what the great George Price had done. He had appointed a crimes commission. We would need now to get people who can offer suggestions and solutions and that within 6 months they can advise the government, this is what we can come up with in the circumstances so the government has something to guide them because clearly they don't have any solutions."
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