Major crimes such as murders and robberies have been spiking over the past month. And while there are police boots on the ground, we asked the Police Minister if this is enough.

Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs
"Every time this happens, we ask the same question, we get the same answer, more boots on the ground and whatnot. But if boots are already on the ground and these things still keep happening, what else is there?"

"It's a very tough time all across the world, not just in Belize and so with a downturn in the economy comes an uptick in crime so countries in Jamaica have spiraled out of control with murders every single day and they have been employing states of emergencies every single day and it's not proving any results and that is why forums and platforms like this and strategies like this are very important for the long term. You look at El Salvador, they have locked up all of their so called criminals in jail, I think 40,000+, but eventually whether it's in a month or two, he will have to let those individuals go because it goes against human rights and constitutional rights and so those things are short term fixes and I know it is sort of like morphine, i think that is how Dr Gayle refers to states of emergencies because it gives everybody that very temporary satisfaction but at the end of the day it's not for long term solutions so strategies like this from the LIU, the multi-sectoral approach is extremely important. Yes, we have greater patrols on the streets especially in Belize City. We have made some adjustments in the leadership in Belize City in particular within the ranks of the department and so we're hoping that we can adjust those strategies to curb crime."

"And as you know, we are getting another intake, hopefully by December of this year, we'll have 150 graduates from the police department and again increase the number of officers we have because we're at somewhere around 2,038 officers at the moment."

Channel 7