The Government has declared states of public emergency (SOEs) for the entire parishes of Clarendon and St Ann, as well as the Kingston Western Police Division, following a surge in criminal activities in these areas. 

The announcement was made by Prime Minister Andrew Holness, who said that, on the advice of the Commissioner of Police and the Chief of Defence Staff, Governor General Sir Patrick Allen has declared the SOEs for an initial period of 14 days beginning at midnight today (February 15).

Holness said the Government’s main priority is to use all lawful and constitutional measures to protect the lives of innocent citizens. 

“Organised gangs are the main source and cause of violence, leading to fear and terror in some communities. The Government must protect innocent citizens from these criminal gangs and therefore must act,” Holness said in a release.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Security Dr Horace Chang in the meantime stressed that extreme criminality, as recorded in the specified areas, requires equally strong and decisive enforcement measures to protect law-abiding citizens. 

“The Government is committed to taking the actions necessary to protect its citizens. In free and democratic societies like Jamaica, focused short-term enforcement measures are justifiable to save lives. The use of the states of public emergency in these instances is a necessary and effective response to the high level of criminal violence within the identified areas,” Chang added.

Commissioner of Police, Major General Antony Anderson, further noted that the Clarendon police division had the third highest number of murders across all police divisions, with a total of 15 murders, and four shooting incidents over the period January 1 to February 12 this year.

This is the highest increase among all police divisions in both murders and shooting incidents; with murders up 200 per cent and shootings up 100 per cent. For the comparative period in 2022, there were five murders and tw0 shootings. 

Meanwhile, for the St Ann police division, Anderson reported that, although the division had 50 per cent fewer murders in January 2023 than in January 2022, this 50 per cent reduction was reversed with a 22 per cent increase in murders as at February 11, 2023, with the year-to-date figures moved from nine to 11 murders.

When gun murders are tallied separately, three murders were recorded in January 2023 and six murders were recorded within the first two weeks of February; a 100 per cent increase in gun murders in half the time. This shows that the St Ann division is of concern.

Finally, Anderson said the Kingston Western police division had the highest number of murders and shooting incidents across all police divisions, with a total of 17 murders and 12 shooting incidents recorded from January 1, 2023, to February 10, 2023.

This is an increase of 31 per cent in murders and 20 per cent in shooting incidents when compared to the same period in 2022, during which 13 murders and 10 shooting incidents were recorded.

In the meantime, Chief of Defence Staff, Rear Admiral Antonette Wemyss Gorman said the JDF would continue to support the JCF in its efforts to curb the trend of violence and set the conditions for normal policing.

The declaration of SOEs will allow the security forces to carry out targeted operations to disrupt and dismantle criminal gangs and their networks and prevent the occurrence of serious crimes.

With this, the Government said it was assuring the public that the safety and security of all Jamaicans remained its top priority and urged all citizens to cooperate with the security forces as they work to stop criminal activity.