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KINGSTON, Jamaica, Mar. 29, (CMC) – Jamaica has recorded a slight decrease in murders during the first three months of this year, according to official figures released here.
The Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) said, there were 245 murders up to March 26 as compared to 270 for the same period, January 1 to March 26, last year.
The police figures show, that of the 19 police divisions, 10 have been described as being active with incidents of murder.
The St. James Division led with 48 murders, followed by Clarendon and St. Catherine North, with figures of 34 and 20 murders, respectively.
The police say, they are maintaining a strong presence in Westmoreland, where two people were shot and injured over the weekend.
Police said, that the shootings were in reprisal for last July’s quadruple killing in the Old Road community of Whithorn, when four men were fatally shot in a shop.
The figures released by the JCF showed, that there were 221 shootings, as against 257 a year ago, while reported cases of rape totalled 97, down from the 2015 figure of 150.
Last year, Jamaica recorded the highest murder toll in the last five years, with police figures showing that 1,192 murders were committed during the 12 months.
Overall, the JCF said, that there was a 20 per cent decline in serious and violent crime here, during the first three months, with 668 cases reported, as against 840 last year.
Incidents of aggravated assault also reflected a reduction with 105 reported cases, compared to 163, while for the same period, 229 incidents of acquisition crimes were reported, a decline of 44 per cent over the 2015 figure, for the first three months.
Meanwhile, 98 people have died as a result of road accidents during the first 88 days of this year. The police said 36 were motorcyclists.
The latest fatal incident occurred on Sunday, when a father and his daughter, travelling on a motorcycle in the vicinity of the Portia Simpson Miller Square in Three Miles, St. Andrew, crashed into a truck.
