The Opposition is calling for the Government to develop new initiatives and bring new energy to the fight against violent crime.

In a statement, the People’s National Party (PNP) said the call comes against the background of the statistics released today (September 13) by the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) in its weekly year-to-date Serious & Violent Crimes Review.

Senator Peter Bunting, the shadow minister of national security said that “the statistics provide a failing grade for the
Government’s performance in the fight against crime over the last year”.

The Review shows that between January 1 and September 11 this year, there have been 991 murders recorded in Jamaica, an increase of 94 (or 10.5 per cent) when compared with the corresponding period in 2020. The deterioration was punctuated by the 18 murders which took place in a 48-hour period on the weekend, including a quadruple murder thatleft the community of Havana Heights traumatised.

CLEAR UP RATE CONTINUES TO BE LOW

Further analysis of the JCF Statistics, the PNP noted, show a 32 per cent increase (+78) in murders in four inner-city divisions – St Andrew South and Kingston.

In contrast, the year-to-date arrests for murder are down by 11 per cent and the clear up rates continue to be low.

“The data shows that greater resources need to be allocated to building the intelligence gathering and investigative capabilities of the police” said Bunting.

The Opposition also reiterated its call for increased social interventions and social investments in disadvantaged communities, arguing that that was the only long-term solution to controlling the epidemic of violence.