Top cop Dr Kevin Blake has put forward data which, he insists, show that the 310 fatal shootings by the police this year, recorded by the Independent Commission of Investigations (Indecom), represent a minusucle number of the interactions between law enforcers and the public, resulting in 487 fewer murders.

Indecom has reported that the 310 fatal shootings occurred during confrontations between members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) and citizens.

However, Commissioner Blake, in a comprehensive end-of-year review released last Friday, said while the incidents remain the subject of ongoing police investigations, it is important to place them in proper context.

“It must be clearly stated that the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s preference is, and has always been, to preserve life and bring offenders before the court. The data for 2025 supports this unequivocally. To give context to the discussion, we have increased operations by over 70 per cent, this means that there were over 100,000 interactions between police and citizens over the year,” he said.

“While we are not happy with increased fatal shootings, the number represents less than 0.3 per cent of all police/citizen interactions. Let us all remember that our focused deterrence strategy aims at throwing a significant amount of resources around the highest risk targets. These are persons who have made a life of killing people. In spite of this, we have and will continue to appeal to these individuals not to meet us with violence” as the police will not relent in their pursuit to bring them to justice.

He reiterated an oft made appeal: “We urge members of the public, particularly those engaged in criminal activity, to comply with the police’s instructions. When confronted by law enforcement, escalation is a choice and a very dangerous one.”

The best and safest option to these individuals, he said, is for them to lay down their weapons and submit to lawful authority.

Blake insisted that if Jamaicans can join in encouraging criminals not to challenge the security forces, there will be far fewer fatal shootings in 2026. He added that the figures must be looked at closely as they demonstrate that, during the majority of encounters with armed assailants, cops managed to not only de-escalate situations, but also secure firearms and preserve lives.

He also said that during each arrest restraint and professionalism are demonstrated.

“Each arrest represents adherence to the rule of law under extremely dangerous circumstances. We cannot allow the national conversation to focus solely on fatal shootings while ignoring the hundreds of instances where officers disarmed gunmen, prevented violence, and brought offenders before the justice system. The broader picture tells the true story in 2025,” the police commissioner said.

“The Jamaica Constabulary Force remains committed to lawful measures and accountable policing, even as we confront increasingly armed and violent criminal elements. Our aim is justice, not confrontation, and the evidence shows that, whenever possible, life is preserved. As commissioner, I am deeply proud of the men and women of the Jamaica Constabulary Force. The results we are seeing in 2025 are the product of long hours, difficult decisions, professionalism, and exceptional support from our stakeholders,” he said.

Blake said that 2025 has been a year in which strategy, accountability and partnership have translated into measurable outcomes for the Jamaican people.

“In 2017, our beautiful nation recorded in excess of 1,640 murders. At that time we had made the resolve that we would never get back there. That year we recorded the third-highest number of murders in our country’s history, and so we use that year as a benchmark year with which we measure our progress today,” he said.

“At the start of 2025, we made a clear commitment to consolidate the gains of previous years whilst intensifying our focus on violent crimes, particularly murders and shootings. As we stand here today I can say with confidence that 2025 was a year in which hundreds of lives were saved and violent crimes significantly reduced. Murders are down by 43 per cent nationally,” he pointed out.

He said that as at December 20, 2025, Jamaica recorded 649 murders, representing 487 fewer murders than the same period in 2024.

“This is not a marginal improvement, it is a substantial reduction and it reflects the accumulative impacts of intelligence-led policing, focused operations against gangs, enhanced firearms interdiction, and the commitment of our officers on the ground,” the commissioner said.

“One of the fundamental truths behind the progress we outline today is that none of this happened in isolation. The gains we are seeing in crime reduction are not the work of police action alone, they are the product of deliberate alignment, shared resolve and sustained support across the State and wider society.

“I want to thank the Government of Jamaica for believing in the policing plan that was laid out at the start of this journey and critically for backing that belief with the financial resources necessary to execute it. Strategy without support is theory. What we have demonstrated this year is what becomes possible when vision is matched by investment,” he said.

“I must recognise our many stakeholders who have stood firmly with the Jamaica Constabulary Force throughout this period of transformation, in particular, I want to thank the Police Service Commission whose support has been instrumental in ensuring that the right people are placed in the right levels,” he added.

Highlighting the performances of the divisions islandwide, Blake shared that there was a 13 per cent reduction of all major crimes. He said, however, that there was a small increase in robberies and break-ins.