Despite more than 120 Jamaicans being murdered since the start of the year, the Jamaica Constabulary Force is reporting that all major crimes in the country including murders, are down by 19 per cent.

The revelation was made by Police Commissioner, Major General, Antony Anderson in a digital press conference on Monday.

In the breakdown of the JCF’s crime statistics, Anderson shared that the island recorded a six per cent decline in murders, a 20 per cent decline in shootings, a 14 per cent decline in robberies, a 67 per cent decline in rape and an 11 per cent decline in break-ins — an overall reduction of 19 per cent in major crimes islandwide.

“This is where we are as of February 1, 2022. We recognise how tenuous these numbers are but it is a reflection of the work that the JCF has been doing over the years but particularly in terms of bringing together the resources of personnel, of equipment, of technology, plans and strategies, working with partners to deliver these results,” said commissioner Anderson. “Our strategies are many and our strategies are focused on guns and the recovery of them, the removal of these guns from the hands of these murderers.”

Speaking on the recovery of guns, Anderson also revealed that the JCF has seized 88 guns since the start of 2022, a 17 per cent increase on recoveries from 2021. Of the 88 guns recovered, 59 were pistols, 12 were rifles, eight were revolvers, two were shotguns and four were homemade weapons.

“These are the main implements used by gunmen and gangs to create death, mayhem and pain,” said Anderson, adding that because of these weapons, members of the JCF have to work within a framework of “guns, gunmen and gangs.”

 “It is important to recognise that the members of the JCF have been extending themselves without break. I would like the people listening to what we’re saying today to understand the context and framework in which the JCF and our partners, JDF operate. We operate in a framework and environment of guns, gunmen and gangs who want to create death, mayhem and pain, “he continued. “We have a violence problem in our society that we have to deal with…and we spend a lot of resources and there is a lot of effort that is placed on actually stopping killers from killing each other and their families and we must continue that.”

The police commissioner went on to state that although major crimes are down by 19 per cent so far this year, a shift can happen at any time, and vowed that as it relates to the country’s crime problem, the JCF will not “roll over and play dead.”

“Everyday we look at our strategies to see what needs to be tweaked to get better results. That is the commitment of the JCF as we combat the scourge of guns, gunmen, gangs. Although we are down now, it doesn’t mean things can’t shift but at no point will we roll over and play dead as the JCF in this business,” he said. “We (the Police High Command) have all been a part of this move by the security forces to ensure as best as possible within our capacity, within the tools available, the resources available, to deliver as much safety and security to our people as we can,” he said.

-Shereita Grizzle