ST JAMES, Jamaica — The St James police are predicting that the parish will see another reduction in murders if current trends pan out.

During a press conference on Friday, acting divisional head, Senior Superintendent Carlos Russell, said the parish is looking at numbers that haven’t been seen in two decades.

“St James is on course to record its lowest murder total in over 20 years. The target is under 70 murders and we are on target,” he remarked.

St James, which for years has worn the bloodiest parish tag, saw major decline with last year’s figure coming in at 125 compared to 187 in 2023.

Up to April 26 this year, the parish had recorded 19 murders compared to 45 for the same period last year, a 56.8 per cent reduction.

In order to meet this objective, Russell is calling on the citizens to help the police to make this a reality.

“I’m just urging the citizens to continue to work with us, the police, so that we continue to enjoy this level of peace and tranquillity that we are having in the general St James and Montego Bay surroundings,” Russell remarked.

“When I ask for support, I mean they can contribute by providing information and intelligence as it relates to persons of interest and wanted persons that are hiding in their community,” he added.

The police are adamant that whatever information is provided will be treated with the strictest confidence and residents can rest assured that they will act on information and get the job done.