Prime Minister Andrew Holness has moved to assure members of the Jamaican Diaspora that his administration is taking a multifaceted and multilayered approach to tackle the issue of crime.

Delivering the keynote address at the opening ceremony of the 10th Biennial Jamaica Diaspora Conference in Montego Bay on Tuesday (June 18), the prime minister declared that security forces are not satisfied with a reduction and want to further dismantle Jamaica’s criminal underbelly.

“We are working, our murder rate is now about 10 per cent below what it was last year this time and we experienced a similar reduction last year. The strategy is to continue to push that homicide rate downwards. The number of gangs that have threatened us has been basically cut in half. We have dismantled many of the violence-producing gangs,” Holness stated.

As at June 9, the national murder tally stood at 525, according to the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) statistics, which represents a 10.4 per cent decline in murders, when compared to the 586 homicides recorded for the same period last year.

The prime minister highlighted the government’s significant contributions to enhancing police technology.

“In addition to which we have made massive investments in MOCA [Major Organised and Anti-Corruption Agency] and we have been dismantling those criminal networks that are operating in the cyber realms well. So, I want to give you the assurance as the diaspora that we are taking a multifaceted, multilayered, strategic approach in reducing crime without at the same time violating the human rights and the standards that our people expect of us,” Holness said.

He further emphasised that Jamaica is a much more secure nation than it was a decade ago.