Declaring that Jamaica’s 1,674 homicides last year was way too high, Commissioner Lucius Thomas said the police force has implemented an action plan to slash murders by five per cent this year.

In fact Thomas, at a news conference yesterday at the Police Officers’ Club in Kingston, said that up to the time he spoke there had been 113 recorded murders for the month of January, a 23 per cent decrease over the 146 committed in January 2005. If that figure held through last night, he said, the country would be ahead of the constabulary’s predicted five per cent reduction in murders.

“It is nothing to shout about yet, but it is a start,” said the police chief.

Thomas based his murder reduction target against the backdrop of the effect the killings have on tourism, business, education, entertainment and Jamaica’s hosting of Cricket World Cup next year. The reduction and containment of homicide, he said, “remains the number one priority of the JCF (Jamaica Constabulary Force) during 2006”.

According to Thomas, the constabulary’s Murder Reduction Action Plan involves:

. the establishment of a Crime Hotspot Secretariat to improve the management and analysis of information about serious crime and to ensure the deployment of policemen and women where they are most needed to reduce murder and the fear of crime;

. the establishment of a Kingston and St Andrew Major Investigation Taskforce (MIT) to improve investigation of murders, shootings and other serious crimes;

. improving the quality of investigations for murder and shootings and to provide an effective review system across the country;

. improving the ways in which the JCF manages criminal intelligence by enhancing the role of the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) and Divisional Intelligence Units (DIUs). Deputy Commissioner of Police Charles Scarlett, who is in charge of intelligence, will drive this element of the plan;

. improving the way in which the JCF works with other partners in providing effective and co-ordinated social intervention in areas affected by high levels of crime and violence;

. working with partners in the criminal justice system to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the process of criminal justice;

. improving the use of forensic science in criminal investigation through the introduction of new policies, technologies and procedures; and

. improving the capacity of investigators through training and development.

The establishment of the Kingston and St Andrew MIT, Commissioner Thomas said, will provide a one-stop response to all shootings and homicides by implementing a new all-inclusive investigation and scene of crime response, deliver a more effective prosecutions process to reduce delays and bring offenders to justice.

“I am very pleased to announce that while DCP (Mark) Shields will have overall co-ordinating responsibility for the Murder Reduction Action Plan, newly appointed Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Mr Les Green will be the driving force behind the functioning of the MIT,” said Thomas.

Shields and Green are two Scotland Yard cops who have been seconded to the Jamaica Constabulary Force as part of a drive by local authorities to improve investigative skills.

The MIT, said Thomas, “is of particular significance because it is well known that the majority of murders in Jamaica are committed over specific geographic areas of Kingston and St Andrew”.

The MIT, he explained, “will be targeting these areas and will utilise a taskforce approach similar to (Operation) Kingfish to co-ordinate its activities”.

Kingfish was formed in October 2004 to bring down crime bosses, drug traffickers and gangs. It is staffed by some of the constabulary’s most highly skilled investigators and has in-house legal support services.

Yesterday, some of Kingfish’s successes were listed on one of a raft of documents highlighting police statistics and issued to reporters at the news conference.

The document pointed to:

. the capture and conviction of Kevin ‘Richie Poo’ Tyndale, one of Jamaica’s most wanted men;

. the arrest of Matthews Lane area don Donald ‘Zeeks’ Phipps;

. the arrest of Jason ‘City Puss’ Brown, a prominent member of the Klansman gang;

. the arrest of Ricardo ‘Jah Jah’ Gordon of the One Order gang;

. the shooting death of Klansman boss Donovan ‘Bulbie’ Bennett, one of Jamaica’s most wanted men; and

. assistance in preparing the case against Joel Andem, former leader of the Gideon Warriors gang, who has been sentenced to 20 years on gun-related charges.

Yesterday, Thomas, who has been on a morale-boosting drive within the JCF, assured sceptics that the plan would work because it has the support of his cops on the ground.

“I have a committed team, including the constables who walk the beat or do station duties,” he said. “They are probably the most important part of the overall police mix.

“It makes absolutely no sense coming up with these elaborate plans if they are not supported by the policemen and women on the ground.”