Majority of the country’s 1,166 murder victims so far this year were linked to gangsters in one way or another. Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Ealan Powell, making the revelation at a press briefing at the Office of the Police Commissioner in St Andrew yesterday, said that as high as 60 per cent of the murders were a result of gang-related violence.

“Some of them (the victims) are very innocent but, just by being relatives or friends of gangsters, found themselves in a situation where they were killed by other gangsters,” he said, noting that violent and deadly flare-ups now in many communities are gang-related.

“There are gang conflicts in Hanover, St James, Westmoreland, St Catherine — north and south — Clarendon and Kingston, and we are putting in the necessary resources to stop them, but in many instances what we are seeing is either intra- gang or inter-gang,” he declared. “Like in Spanish Town, we are seeing an intra-gang conflict between elements of the Klansman gang that is also playing out in St Catherine in the general Portmore and Grange Lane area.

We have seen some deaths in those areas as a result of the conflict,” he added. In the meantime, ACP Powell said that more than 600 people have been arrested so far this year for murder.

He, however, said there could have been more arrests if citizens were more cooperative with the police and appealed to members of the public who have witnessed crimes to tell the police what they know.

“The life you’re saving could very well be your own by supplying this information. Helping the police is helping yourself, your community and your country,” ACP Powell urged.

At the same time, he warned members of the public that it is a crime to harbour a fugitive while noting that two wanted men, including a major player in criminal activities from St James, were recently arrested.

He urged the public not to buy into the belief that the police cannot be trusted, reminding that there are ways to share information discreetly. “Send a text, send a tweet.

There is the Stay Alert App, there is still 119 and there is still Crime Stop.

And I could stay here all day and go on but I just want to appeal to the public to help us,” he said. In the meantime, Acting Assistant Commissioner Calvin Allen from the JCF’s Operations Branch said that the ‘Get the Guns’ campaign has resulted in the seizure of 5,089 weapons since the start of the year. “So some 5,089 [guns] are no longer in the hands of criminals.

So when you do your own assessment as to the impact of one gun, you can just imagine the impact of 5,089 guns with over 8,000 rounds of ammunition,” he said.

ACP Allen also appealed to citizens to assist the police in ridding the streets of weapons by providing them with information.