Shootings also dropped a comparative 33% over the previous calendar year
After a record 145 murders in Belize in 2012 – a rate of nearly 50 murders per 100,000 people in Belize – the murder count for 2013 has dropped remarkably, by 32%, to 99 cases in 2013, according to statistics released this week by the Police Department. The incidences of shootings have also dropped a comparative 33% over the previous calendar year.
Murder had hit its last peak in 2008, with a reported 103 murders, and the subsequent year, it declined by 5.8% to register 97 murders in 2009. The 2013 decline in murders is the best reprieve the nation has seen since 1998, when murders fell by 42% – with 32 murders having been reported for that year.
Whereas it is also the lowest figure since 2009, it still represents a murder rate higher than the average rate on record before the change in administration, from the Opposition People’s United Party to the ruling United Democratic Party.
It is important to note that the period spanning 2008 to 2013 has been dominated by triple-digit murder counts, averaging 116 murders a year over the six-year period, whereas the preceding 6-year period saw an annual average of 83 murders.
That is the historical context of this year’s decline in the murder rate, but the trend of the Belize District area being the hub of violent crimes continues to be true. More specifically, nearly 6 in 10 murders in 2013 happened in the Belize District. Our graph indicates that nearly half of all major crimes happened in the Belize District area, with Cayo showing the second highest rate of major crimes.
While 84% of the murders happened in Belize’s central districts, the northern districts – Orange Walk and Corozal – reported the lowest incidences of murders (7%), followed by the southern districts (9%).
Even as 2013 saw a reprieve in murders, incidences of most major crimes have also fallen, with the exception of carnal knowledge – up by 30% – and thefts – up by 7%. Robberies declined the most – ending the calendar year nearly 40% lower than last year’s reports.
The Police Department reported 2,395 incidences of major crimes for 2013, the vast majority being crimes against personal property, such as robbery and motor vehicle theft. In 2013, 91% of major crimes were thefts (42%), burglaries (37%), and robberies (12%).