MURDERS in Jamaica declined by 7.6 per cent last year, in line with a trend for most major crimes.

But the island's security minister, Peter Phillips, said that while the numbers were encouraging the level of criminal violence in the country remained far too high, demanding broad-based interventions.

"The truth is that Jamaica's murder rate remains much too high," said Phillips. "There is still much work to be done."

According to data obtained by the Observer from the police, 1,045 persons were murdered in Jamaica, 87, or 7.6 per cent fewer than the 1,132 in 2001.

Police said that 710 of the murders, or approximately 67 per cent, took place in what they characterise as the Kingston Metropolitan Area, which includes the parishes of Kingston and St Andrew and St Catherine -- a region that accounts for under 40 per cent of the country's 2.6 million people.

Even with last year's decline, Jamaica still has a murder rate of just over 40 per 100,000 population, which keeps it near the top of the league table of countries with high per capita levels of murder -- a fact that drives fear in the country and, according to experts, hurts the economy.

Last night Phillips said that further pulling down the murder rate, and reducing crime in general would demand that the security forces maintain their recently-launched efforts in inner-city communities as acceleration of broader programmes to address people's attitudes.

"We have to build on the initiatives in which the security forces are now engaged over the medium term, and we have to transform people," the security minister said. "As a people we are too violent to each other."

In that regard, the minister said, interventions had to include programmes that teach people dispute resolution outside the use of violence.

"We as well have to improve our capacity to detect, apprehend and prosecute people who engage in crime," Phillips added.

According to the police, last year's most violent month was November when the 121 reported murders were 36, or over 42 per cent higher than in November 2001. Murders in November were marginally up on the 117 in October, the next worse month for killings.

While there was only one more murder this past October when compared to October 2001, a spate of killings during the month was believed to have been linked to election campaign tensions which spilled over into November, leading to a public outcry and the decision by the government to send soldiers and police into inner-city communities to directly confront what was described as terrorist gunmen.

Experts say that it was too early to determine the effects of that initiative which relies on a combination of hard policing and social initiatives. Murders in December, at 79, were 42 fewer than in November -- a decline of 34.7 per cent.

In fact, murders in the December was the second lowest for the year, after March with 71.

While the police made some headway with murders and other crimes, they nonetheless faced an increase in shootings, which climbed by 86, or 7.3 per cent, 1,264. Larceny, too, also increased modestly -- from 227 cases to 251.

But burglary showed a dramatic decline of 422 cases, or by 19.4 per cent -- from 2,173 cases in 2001 to 1,751 last year.

Reported rapes also declined a modest six per cent last year, down from 910 reported cases in 2001, to 856 last year. The cases of carnal abuse dropped by just over 12 per cent, or 38 cases, to 267 incidents last year.

Robberies edged down by 3.8 per cent, to 2,009 last year from 2,088 the year before.

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