KINGSTON, Jamaica — Police Commissioner Dr Carl Williams will head to St James for a press conference today where he will speak on matters concerning the recent upsurge of violence in the parish.

The murder tally in St James hit the 200 mark Tuesday after a man was shot dead by unknown assailants on Barnett Street in Montego Bay.

The killing comes despite the increased police/ military presence in the city.  

Yesterday, Williams contended that a shift in violence from urban communities to rural areas was a contributing factor to the murders currently plaguing St James.

“…What you see in the last decade or so is violence shifting from the urban communities of Kingston and St Andrew to the rural communities and even Spanish town, St Catherine North, which is the third most murderous division in part to date. Even that has declined from what it was and what it used to be years ago,” the commissioner explained at the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) President’s Forum on Tuesday.

Williams also said the Jamaica Constabulary Force will divide the St James Police Division into two distinct divisions in order to regain control of crime in the western parish.

Read: Gangsters, scammers force cops’ hand in St James

The commissioner also said they are re-establishing the Lottery Scam Task Force, which was successful in clamping down on the illegal activity in the west.

Williams and other members of the Police High Command are slated to address the media at the Freeport Police Station at 3:00pm today.