The creation of jobs and involvement in communities top the recommendations made by Jamaicans as to what the Government and police should do to help reduce crime.

That is the finding of a Jamaica Observer-commissioned survey conducted by veteran pollster Bill Johnson last month.

Johnson said that the poll, which was conducted islandwide between January 21 and 24 among 1,008 Jamaicans, has a sampling error of plus or minus three per cent.

The data come on the heels of 48 per cent of respondents to Johnson’s research team identifying unemployment as the biggest cause of crime in the country, followed by 17 per cent who blamed poverty.

When the pollsters asked what should the Government do to help reduce crime in Jamaica, 33 per cent of respondents said the administration needed to provide jobs, while 23 per cent recommended that they get involved in communities.

A similar 23 per cent recommended socialisation in communities to the police, while 17 per cent felt that the police should increase patrols.

Question: What do you think the Government of Jamaica should be doing to help reduce crime in Jamaica?

Responses:

Provide jobs 33%

Socialise in community 23%

Keep SOE 9%

Get rid of corrupt police 6%

More police 4%

Get police to do their job 4%

Harsher penalties 3%

Job training centres 3%

Better resources 2%

Youth programmes 2%

Question: What exactly do you think the police should be doing to help reduce crime in Jamaica?

Socialise in community 23%

More police patrols 17%

Fewer corrupt police 14%

Work harder 6%

Be respectful of citizens 4%

Tougher policing 3%

Stop informing 2%

Keep SOE 1%

The poll data follow last month’s revelation by the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) that the country’s unemployment rate had fallen to a new record low of 8.4 per cent – the lowest in 50 years.

According to STATIN’s Labour Force Survey for July 2018, the number of unemployed persons declined by 27.7 per cent to 111,800. This out-turn is 2.9 percentage points lower than the rate of 11.3 per cent for July 2017.

The agency also said that the unemployment rate among youth, aged 14 to 24, decreased by 5.3 per cent to 22.2 per cent, relative to the 27.5 per cent out-turn recorded in July 2017.

“The overall number of persons who are in jobs rose to 1,226,400 as at July 2018, representing an increase of 12,800”, while “the total labour force stood at 1,338,200 persons as at July 2018,” said STATIN.

TOMORROW: Do Jamaicans feel safe and would they recommend that friends or relatives abroad visit the island?