Government Moves to Expand Alternative Sentencing Options

The Government of Belize is moving to strengthen its Alternative Sentencing legislation with proposed amendments aimed at giving the courts greater flexibility when dealing with offenders while reducing reliance on imprisonment for less serious crimes.  The Alternative Sentencing (Amendment) Bill, 2026, was introduced in the House of Representatives on Thursday by Caribbean Shores Area Representative Kareem Musa. The bill seeks to expand the definition of offences that may qualify for alternative sentencing and make changes to provisions relating to community service orders, curfew orders, suspended sentences, probation orders, and restitution orders. It also proposes the repeal of Schedule One of the existing law.  In presenting the bill, Minister Musa reflected on the origins of the Alternative Sentencing Act, which was passed in 2024, explaining that the legislation was designed to modernize Belize’s criminal justice system by providing courts with options other than incarceration for suitable offenders.

Kareem Musa, Caribbean Shores Area Representative: “You may recall in December of 2023 the Criminal Justice Board which is chaired by the Honourable Chief Justice, was established. It is a multi-sectoral, multi-disciplinary and interdisciplinary board, which is comprised of judges, magistrates, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Crown Council, Police, Defense Council, representatives from the Attorney General’s Ministry, forensic analysts, social workers, the prison, clergy, and other representatives of civil society. This inclusive approach ensures a comprehensive effort to address systemic challenges and enhance effectiveness and efficiency in the criminal justice system. And coming out of this board, we had the Alternative Sentencing Act which is number 13 of 2024 and that came into force on the 27th of April 2024 as part of this administration’s reforms to the criminal justice system, making new and expansive provisions related to alternative sentencing and repealing the Penal System Reform Alternative Sentences Act. Following this enactment a subcommittee of the Criminal Justice Board, which is chaired by the Honorable High Court Justice Nigel Pilgrim, was convened to undertake a comprehensive review of the Act with a mandate to examine its structure, coherence, and practical operation, and to propose amendments to enhance its clarity, effectiveness and alignment with constitutional principles and modern sentencing practices. So the recommendations as proposed in this amendment bill today come from that board. Just to give a little overview, Mr. Speaker, currently Section 2 of the Alternative Sentencing Act defines the word offense as a) an offense triable on indictment which with the consent of the prosecution and the accused person may be tried summarily or b) an offense triable summarily and not otherwise. The current definition of offense in Section 2 is unduly restrictive limited the application of the Act to summary and certain hybrid offences and creating internal inconsistencies across provisions. This restricts the Court’s ability to impose appropriate alternative sentences in suitable cases.”

According to the minister, the proposed amendments are intended to improve the effectiveness of the law and ensure that the courts have the necessary tools to impose sentences that are both fair and constructive. The bill has now been referred for further consideration as it moves through the legislative process./