THE Cabinet yesterday postponed discussions on a response to the upsurge in crime – which greeted the new year – due to the absence of National Security Minister Dr Peter Phillips.

Information Minister Donald Buchanan said that Phillips is in Trinidad and Tobago attending a meeting of regional representatives on security measures for Cricket World Cup 2007.

Phillips was expected to report to the Cabinet yesterday on information coming out of his discussions last week with Police Commissioner Lucius Thomas.

Buchanan had informed last week Monday’s Post Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House that during that day’s discussions, Phillips informed the Cabinet that he would be meeting with the high command of the police force to do an analysis and evaluation of the situation on Wednesday.

Following that meeting, the minister and the commissioner met with Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller to brief her on their discussions, and to indicate what measures are to be deployed to resume the trend of a reduction in major crimes.

The minister should have reported to the Cabinet yesterday on those developments for further discussions and approval.

But Buchanan told the weekly briefing that although a submission was received by the Cabinet, because of Phillips’ absence, it was decided to postpone discussions until next week.

“A Cabinet submission was placed before the Cabinet and the prime minister indicated that the discussions would be postponed until next Monday, when the minister of national security will attend and will be able to do the presentation,” Buchanan said.

He said that everything will flow from what happens next Monday, but expressed no concern that the delay could impact on the current crime situation.

“What I have seen happening in the last week, is that the security forces have begun to get on top of the upsurge which started in the first two weeks. I would say that in the last few days we have seen a downturn. So I think the security forces, and whatever action has been implemented so far should be commended,” the information minister said.

Police blotters indicate that 60 murders, 4.2 per day, were committed in the first two weeks of this year. Forty four (73 per cent) of the murders were committed in the rural parishes. Of that amount 26 occurred in the police Area One division, which covers the parishes of St James, Westmoreland, Trelawny and Hanover.

There have been a sharp increase in the number of murders in St James, which has experienced 15 murders since the start of the year compared to three in first two weeks of 2006.

Most of this year’s murders took place in the densely-populated, poor communities which surround the parish capital of Montego Bay.

Six persons were killed in Westmoreland, three were murdered in Trelawny, while police reported two murders in Hanover. Six murders were reported in Clarendon since the start of the year, compared to two over the same period last year.

Eight persons were killed in the Corporate Area and St Catherine, once branded as killing fields by the security forces.

Infighting between gang members in the community of Common in St Andrew has been blamed for a rise in murders in the St Andrew North police division, but police say their Hot Spot policing strategy and the formation of the Major Investigation Task Force, which has responsibility for investigating major crimes in that section of the island, have yielded positive results.

There was one murder in Manchester, while no one was killed in the parishes of St Ann, Portland and St Thomas.

While the murder rate and the fear factor among citizens are high, the police say they will impose strategies to bring down the murder tally.

“It is much too early to panic. We will employ the same strategies that have been used in Kingston and St Catherine to get the desired results,” Deputy Commissioner Les Green told the Observer.

– Additional reporting by Karyl Walker,/I>