Is Corozal safe? What's the crime rate in general in Corozal?

They don’t publish a crime rate in particular for Corozal, but I believe it to be safe. There’s very little crime that I’m aware of, and I believe Corozal to be probably one of the safest areas in Belize. Occasionally we will have a “Belizean on Belizean” crime and just like in everywhere else if you’re silly about leaving your valuable possessions out where somebody can grab them and run off, they will.

 

But that’s...

They don’t publish a crime rate in particular for Corozal, but I believe it to be safe. There’s very little crime that I’m aware of, and I believe Corozal to be probably one of the safest areas in Belize. Occasionally we will have a “Belizean on Belizean” crime and just like in everywhere else if you’re silly about leaving your valuable possessions out where somebody can grab them and run off, they will.

 

But that’s not the case normally, especially if you get to know the locals. They’ll look out for you. I’m very comfortable leaving my house in the hands of a local Belizean who’s my caretaker, and who looks after it.  My boats there, and my house is there. I’ve got TVs and other similar items there and I’ve never had a problem. 

 

My house doesn’t have bars on it, or barbed wire or cut glass everywhere.  We’re wide open. We have neighbors who are relatively close by and the gentleman that I bought the land from has 4 or 5 dogs that are always wandering around.  We’re kind of out of the country in the Corozal district but we’re not in Corozal proper, and we just don’t worry about those sorts of things. There’s never been an issue.  We don’t even have an exterior perimeter fence.

 

Compared to Dallas, Texas, where I’m from, I feel safe in Corozal.  In Dallas, I carry a weapon, while in Belize, I do not. I never have.  I just don’t feel the need.  It’s not an issue. Most of the violent types of crimes in Belize happen in and around Belize City, which is where most of the problems are. When you get out into the countryside, the smaller villages and towns, everybody knows everybody. As a result, it’s awfully hard to do something to someone without other people knowing who it is and who did it. I don’t know if that’s a deterrent or not but I think it is. There’s a sense of community that people have here in Corozal in which they don’t want to harm each and they don’t want the reputation of being a thief.  

 

(Gate of home leading to Corozal Bay, Belize, pictured.)

 

I don’t have the exact statistics on the crime rate here in Corozal but I can speak for myself. As an expat with a white face, I am always alert. Here in Corozal the crime rate is pretty low because the Spanish influence is that they are really good people. However, if you go to the wrong place at the wrong time, sure there would be some problems, but if you’re walking around at 1 AM or hanging out in bars and you’re wearing a gold chain around your neck, you could...

I don’t have the exact statistics on the crime rate here in Corozal but I can speak for myself. As an expat with a white face, I am always alert. Here in Corozal the crime rate is pretty low because the Spanish influence is that they are really good people. However, if you go to the wrong place at the wrong time, sure there would be some problems, but if you’re walking around at 1 AM or hanging out in bars and you’re wearing a gold chain around your neck, you could be a sitting duck, I suppose.

 

Overall, I don’t have concerns about safely here in Corozal. I lock my car here but I do that in Toronto as well. I always say, if you’re looking for trouble, you’re going to find it. I lived in Belize City for two years and never had to stitch a problem; not one. I was out at night, sometimes late with friends and never had a problem. 

 

In Corozal, the houses have burglar bars but it is standard because you’re leaving yourself exposed if there isn’t that kind of security. People who have gated places might keep a dog and have burglar bars. Some will go farther to have more security but that’s the same in Ambergris Caye and the other islands, and it is the same in Belize City. It is just pretty standard to put burglar bars in your home.

 

I don’t feel unsafe here. If I am in downtown Toronto after midnight in the wrong spot, I would feel more unsafe there than I would here in Corozal.

 

(Corozal town, Belize, pictured.)