OCHO RIOS, St Ann — With family fights contributing to the slight increase seen in murders in St Ann, senior superintendent (SSP) of police in charge of the parish, Dwight Powell, is calling on residents to settle domestic disputes without resorting to violence.

“We are one of the parishes that still continue to see a reduction in murders but we could be at a better place if we were settling our domestic disputes in a better way. We have a number of domestic-related incidents that have escalated into murders,” he said.

The senior lawman was providing an update on the parish’s crime stats during last Thursday’s monthly meeting of the St Ann Municipal Corporation. He said that from August to September 9 this year, the parish had seen a 37 per cent reduction in murders. However, that was less impressive than the 48 per cent decrease for the corresponding period last year, he noted.

In an effort to keep the numbers down, he said, the police have been working closely with residents.

“We are working assiduously with our various stakeholders such as the Dispute Resolution Foundation to see how best we can get into communities… so that people will be able to talk out their differences rather than using violence,” he said. “Our aim is to continue to make St Ann one of the [country’s] safest parishes.”