FIVE parishes and one police division, which have accounted for a total of 766 of the 1,282 murders committed islandwide since January 1, were yesterday placed under states of public emergency (SOEs) as the security forces move to dent the activities of 75 gangs operating in these areas.

For the areas placed under SOEs, St Catherine has recorded 203 murders this year, followed by St James with 173. The St Andrew South Police Division accounted for 113 murders, while Westmoreland, Clarendon and Hanover accounted for 110, 100 and 67 murders, respectively.

The declaration of the SOEs on Friday followed closely on the heels of the expiration of SOEs that were declared on November 23 in Hanover, St James, St Catherine, and Clarendon. The SOEs declared on November 23 expired on Thursday.

Jamaica House, in a statement Friday announcing the new SOEs, raised concerns over the homicide rate in the parishes and the division where the security measure was declared.

“In terms of homicides in relation to population (homicides per 100,000 population) St James, Westmoreland and Hanover stood at 90.2, 73.4, and 92.4, respectively. This is significantly higher than the regional average rate of 15.1 per 100,000 and the world average of 6.1 per 100,000. Security chiefs noted that there are over 25 gangs of substantial concern operating in the St Andrew South Police Division, with approximately 52 per cent of the murders in this division being attributed to gang activities. Additionally, there are more than 25 gangs of considerable interest operating in Clarendon and St Catherine, accounting for approximately 50 per cent of murders. There are also another 25 gangs of significant concern operating within the parishes of St James, Hanover and Westmoreland, with approximately 70 per cent of murders in these parishes being gang related,” Jamaica House said.

According to statistics on the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s website, from January 1 to December 2, 2023 the Kingston Western, Kingston Eastern and Kingston Central divisions accounted for 76, 63, 39 murders respectively. St Andrew Central and St Andrew North accounted for 52 murders each. Manchester, St Mary, St Thomas, St Elizabeth and Portland accounted for 41, 35, 21, 29, and 14 murders, respectively.