Belize examining repeat gun offence law

BELMOPAN, Belize, CMC – The Belize government says it is exploring the feasibility of a repeat gun offence law that would require repeat gun offenders and convicted gang members to wear a tracking device when they are released from prison.

In a statement, the Minister of National Security said it had established an Exploratory Committee for Repeat Gun Offence Law.

It includes an information technology specialist and a citizen security expert.

“The law would require repeat gun offenders and convicted gang members to wear a tracking device when they are released from prison to enable police to compare those persons’ location to the scene of a crime at the time the crime is committed.”

The brief statement gave no details as to the terms of reference of the committee or how soon it is expected to submit a report but said that a similar pilot project has been launched for knife crime offenders in England where there has been an upsurge in violent crimes recently.

In recent months, Belize has been rocked with several gun-related murders.

Two students of the University of Belize were gunned down within a seven day period.

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