is it me, or is Belize just getting more and more violent?

I think it has always had these incidents... doesn't seem more violent than any other time in the last 10 years.

i'm not so sure. everyone i've talked to down there thinks crime, murders, etc have gotten much worse the last few years. there have been a series of gas station robberies, this bank job, ex-pat home invasions, along with the gang violence in belize and cayo.

from what i've seen the last 3 years down there, it's getting much more violent. criminals are getting more brazen, crimes are happening with more frequency during the day. hey. look at what happened last week in belize on Front street with the big shoot out, 4 people shot ... 2 more murders on the weekend and another shooting on central american blvd...

well. here you go. Belize’s murder rate averaged much less (48 victims a year) between 1993 and 2000 http://www.amandala.com.bz/index.php?id=6516

so. at least, murder rates have doubled from 10 years ago... i'm sure that violent crimes have also seen higher rates than 10 years ago.

One can argue about the reliability of the statistics, and if crimes are reported or not, but police statistics show that serious crime in Belize is down in recent years. For example, major crime (homicides, rapes, burglaries, etc.) in the first six months of 2008 were down 9% from the same period in 2007. I haven't seen complete stats for 2009.

Based on anecdotal evidence, though, many Belizeans seem to feel that crime is up, especially in Belize City but also in some other areas such as San Pedro.

--Lan Sluder

Belize has been a simmering powder keg for years. I'm not at all surprised that crime and instability have reached such levels. It's a horribly mismanaged country on the verge of being a failed state.

number of murders in belize

2000 42
2001 62
2002 86
2003 66
2004 79
2005 81
2006 92
2007 95
2008 103
2009 97

those numbers were taken from a belize gov't document.
http://www.belize.gov.bz/public/Data/012110162071.pdf

murders are way up in the last 10 years. but incidents of rape, burglaries and thefts are down?
that's quite interesting.

wow. another one.. http://www.7newsbelize.com/index.php#story1

And while the entire nation remains collectively stunned at the ruthlessness of that bank robbery, the armed gunmen are sustaining their campaign of terror. Today armed robbers pulled off another broad daylight heist at a major location in Belize City. It occurred at around 3:30 this afternoon at the Courts Belize Main Store at mile one and a half on the Northern Highway. The robbers – one of whom was armed - put a gun to the head of the cashier - and there are some reports that she was briefly held hostage. Additional unconfirmed reports are that they also robbed customers. Courts did not have comment. Police Press Officer Sgt. Fitzroy Yearwood told us how it unfolded.

i would definitely like to see the homicide count for the first 3 months of 2010....
what about the grenades? they recover those yet? weren't there 2 incidents around christmas/new years'?

It's not just you. Belize is just one of many countries who receive deportations from the US - unfortunately, this is often after receiving gang training in LA or some other city.

but what about the BDF? what are they doing about things? or the police?
or is the country just so corrupt?

The country is BEYOND corrupt. And it's only going to continue to implode. The worst thing that ever happened to Belize was when they ceased to be a British territory, sorry to say.