KINGSTON, Jamaica — The People’s National Party (PNP) says it is extremely disappointed at the prime minister’s silence in the midst of the crime wave roiling the country for the last two weeks.

The Opposition said yesterday’s brutal murder of Andrea Lowe-Garwood while she attended church in Falmouth is the latest disturbing incident in a bloody two weeks.

Read: Hell in church

The PNP further noted the following incidents, which occurred in January alone:

[naviga:ul]

[naviga:li]24 people murdered in one weekend;[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]113 people murdered so far in January 2021;[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]Five homeless people killed while a curfew was in force in the capital city;[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]Virtually open warfare occurring in the streets of Kingston and Southern St Andrew over the last week as gunmen roam the streets;[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]A narcotics trafficking plane crash lands in Rocky Point and its pilots and cargo disappear without a trace.[/naviga:li]

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The party said the prime minister must state what lawful measures are being taken to address the current crime wave so that citizens can be reassured of some modicum of safety, even if they “cannot sleep with their windows and doors open”.

“The prime minister came to office on a promise to fix the crime problem and must therefore be held to account for the non-performance of his administration in this area,” Opposition spokesman on National Security, Peter Bunting said.

Despite the recent spate of violent crimes, January 2021 represents the same average number of murders as the typical month during the previous two years with States of Emergency (SOE) in place, the PNP noted.

The party said this statistic, combined with the fact that Jamaica now has the highest homicide rate in the entire Latin America and the Caribbean region, provides evidence that the serial and routine use of SOEs as a crime fighting measure has been a failure — in addition to being unconstitutional.