Contributed by Nuri Muhammad
BELIZE CITY, Sat. Apr. 5, 2025
From Belize City to Roaring Creek, youth crime is no longer a localized issue, but a national crisis requiring deeper solutions.
Twenty-five years ago, the dominant narrative around crime in Belize was that of “unruly Black boys” from “dysfunctional” families, particularly in the Southside of Belize City. Youth crime was seen as a localized urban problem—a Belize City issue, a Southside issue.
But today, that story no longer fits the facts.
We are now witnessing troubling spikes in youth-related crime and violence in communities far beyond the city limits. Orange Walk, Corozal, San Pedro, Dangriga, Belmopan, Roaring Creek, even Cotton Tree, are now grappling with similar patterns of gang activity, violent behavior, and youth disillusionment.
How do we explain this spread? The answer may lie in an analogy I first introduced in my book ten years ago: Insight into Gang Culture in Belize: crime behaves like a virus.
Just as the COVID-19 virus found its most dangerous footing in bodies with pre-existing health conditions, youth crime thrives in social environments with pre-existing vulnerabilities—poverty, broken homes, underfunded schools, lack of mental health support, unemployment, and political neglect. These conditions weaken the societal immune system, leaving entire communities susceptible to the disease of violence.
While the police continue to be tasked with addressing crime, their role is akin to emergency responders trying to contain an oil spill. If we never locate and seal the ruptured pipeline, the cleanup never ends. We simply rinse and repeat, while the damage deepens.
Belize cannot arrest its way out of this crisis; nor will SOEs alone prevent the recurrence of crime. True crime prevention means addressing the root causes. It means long-term investment in communities, restoring dignity to marginalized youth, strengthening families, and providing meaningful opportunities that offer hope instead of despair.
Until we see youth crime as a symptom of deeper social illness—and not merely as isolated acts of delinquency—we will continue to fight a losing battle.
Youth violence is no longer their problem. It is all of ours.