HEARTFELT wishes for a Christmas free of violence and road crashes dominated discussions the Jamaica Observer had with shoppers and vendors in downtown Kingston last week as preparations for the holidays hit full gear.

“It’s sad to live in Jamaica and really be afraid. I wasn’t a scared person when I was younger. I am 58 years old, and right now I am afraid to leave my house. I never used to be afraid of anything, but right now mi scared so till; the violence definitely needs to stop,” Janet Jackson told the Sunday Observer while shopping in Coronation Market.

Jackson shared that when she was younger, Christmas was a time of celebration, filled with colourful lights, food, and a good time. However, now she said the season is filled with thieves seeking to rob hard-working Jamaicans, or gunmen causing mischief.

“We need to go back to the good old days,” she declared, reiterating her call for peace this holiday season.

Another shopper, Novlet Smith, agreed.

“Yuh see how dem killing off people? Although the market is expensive and the things dem dear, we must buy, so we not watching the prices. We just want love inna the people dem for this Christmas. I can’t take the heap of killing and unnecessary violence,” Smith said in anguish.

“I want a Christmas where people can just cook and give to their neighbours. Who can give must give. That is what I used to do. Every Christmas I would cook and give to the people who lost family members. But now, everybody just get different. You can’t do that again,” she said, adding that nowadays people are cold and distant.

Deep inside the market, a vendor who gave her name as Theresa said her wish was for downtown Kingston to remain peaceful so that vendors can engage in their annual tradition of sleeping overnight in the market on Christmas Eve.

“You have some late people who need things last minute. They might go to the other markets that sell different things, but they know say Coronation Market is really a wholesale market where them can come early and get things,” Theresa said while filling a bag with sorrel.

“When we bleach [stay up late] with our stuff, we get sale all two o’clock and three o’clock in the morning,” she said.

She noted that police and soldiers have been walking through the area to ensure that everything is okay, and she expressed hope that they will continue to do so, even after the season has ended.

“The guys dem here, dem nah trouble we, but is when the outsiders come through is them come do the things… so I would like the soldiers and the police to continue walking through the place, so we have a violence-free Christmas, and so we can just be happy, and sell and know that everything is good,” she told the Sunday Observer.

According to statistics from the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), the island has seen a 13 per cent decline in major crimes between January 1 and December 14 when compared to a similar period last year. Murders went down by 17.6 per cent, shootings by 9.7 per cent, rapes by 25 per cent, and robberies by 20 per cent. Break-ins also went down by 0.9 per cent.

The police also said that they have increased operational deployment and are committed to maintaining a strong presence in public spaces across the island for the Christmas season.

They urged the public to adopt safety practices and increase vigilance, and listed ways to prevent robbery on the road and how to keep safe at home.

Last week, another shopper, Robin Barrett also urged road users to practise caution on the road to ensure that everyone gets to go home for Christmas.

“It’s always good to not have violent crimes and so on around Christmas time because it’s a time of closeness with people feeling goodness and joy, enjoying each other’s love. You can imagine if your loved one comes to visit you from America or whichever foreign country, and you hear that they met in an accident and died out at the airport, or somebody robbed them and killed them. Mi woulda just like the Christmas to be without those incidents,” Barrett said.

According to data from the Island Traffic Authority, a total of 353 people have been killed in road traffic crashes between January and December 20 this year. The figures reflect a decline in road fatalities when compared to a similar period last year, with 58 fewer deaths.

Last Christmas, there were two reported road traffic crashes and two fatalities. The numbers reflected a decline from 2022 when there were four incidents and four deaths.

While not optimistic that Jamaica could have a crime-free and traffic crash-free Christmas, Jodi Anderson wished for better roads.

“The road dem really bad, and if I get up Christmas and [it] is smooth sailing that would be good,” she told the Sunday Observer and called on Prime Minister Andrew Holness to address the main thoroughfares.

Holness recently declared Jamaica’s deteriorating roads a national emergency and announced a $2-billion allocation for work to begin immediately to effect repairs to the main road network that was further damaged by persistent rain.

The $2 billion will be in addition to the $3 billion already being spent under the Relief Emergency Assistance and Community Help (REACH) Programme under which critical road infrastructure needs across the island will be addressed. The programme is giving specific focus to damage caused by recent weather events, including Hurricane Beryl, as well as the execution of routine road maintenance.

Additionally, on December 5 the Government signed four contracts valued at $36.04 billion with China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) to undertake works under the Shared Prosperity Through Accelerated Improvement to our Road Network (SPARK) programme.

A total of 600 roads across the country are to be rehabilitated under that programme.

Theresa, a vendor at Coronation market said she hopes the crime will reduce so that vendors can continue their tradition of sleeping overnight in the market. (Joseph Wellington)

Jamaica has seen an overall 13 per cent decline in major crimes between January 1 and December 14.