Dear Editor,

After reading an apocalyptic article on crime in Jamaica by one George Davis, I decided to look at the crime data for Jamaica. This what I found.

In January 2017 the murder rate increased by approximately 50 per cent (source: Jamaica Constabulary Force [JCF] statistics) and this continued until February with the spike of gang warfare in Jamaica.

If there had not been a five-pillar crime reduction strategy the present figure of murder would be in the region of 2,186 murders to November 25, 2017 and not 1,457.

For St James, specifically, the figure would be have been 885 and not 295 to November 25, 2017.

In summary, in the case of St James, former Minister of National Security Robert “Bobby” Montague’s five-pillar crime-reduction strategy saved approximately 590 lives and nationally 729 lives. These figures are based on extrapolations of official crime data from JCF statistics.

But the loss of one life, and even more so that of 1,457 remains a serious matter. The crime problem will, obviously, not be solved overnight based on many people’s simplistic analyses, neither will it be solved by overt political tribalism and abrasive and crude political repartee aimed at increasing fear in people to force the present Government’s hand.

We must be reminded that murder, crime, and violence are issues for all of Jamaica, as such we as a people must come together to destroy the monster.

Charles Demontaque, PhD

Addlestone Road, Surrey

United Kingdom

charlesdemontaque@yahoo.co.uk