Jamaica records a 24 percent increase in murders since the start of the year

BROOKLYN, NY– Jamaica has recorded 72 murders during the first two weeks of the new year, according to figures released by the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF).

The figures represent a 24 percent increase in murders compared to last year’s corresponding period.

Westmoreland, the westernmost parish in Jamaica, located on the south side of the island, recorded a 350 percent increase in murders. The JCF reported nine murders so far this year compared with two for the corresponding period in 2021.

According to the JCF, from January 1 to 15, there was a 300 percent increase in murders in the Kingston Central Division, with four murders since the start of the year, compared to one for the corresponding period last year.

There were also 100 percent and 80 percent increases in St Catherine South and St Catherine North divisions, respectively. The data shows a 27 percent increase in murders in St James, the suburban parish located on the island’s northwest end, with 14 murders recorded.

Saturday, the police figures showed a 10 percent reduction in shootings, reporting 44 incidents, five less than the corresponding period last year.

Robberies were up 9.3 percent, while rape and break-ins fell compared with last year’s figures for the corresponding period.

Over the weekend, Prime Minister Andrew Holness said that a section of Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland, had been declared a Zone of Special Operations (ZOSO).

The ZOSO is a specifically designed intervention that is more geographically limited and focused on community building. In addition to the security element, it has a heavy community intervention, social intervention, and community-building component. These components, when taken together, must be appropriately organized and well-resourced, which means adequate planning must take place,” Holness said.

He said while the Zone of special operations is a tool to fight crime, “it is not an immediate response tool.

“it is a tool that is used to displace criminals while concurrently allowing community and social intervention to take place,” he added.