THE St Andrew Central Police Division, which is the commercial heartbeat of the Corporate Area, where thousands of Jamaicans live, work and daily, is confronting a changing crime landscape, with police saying interpersonal and domestic conflicts have become a greater concern than organised gang violence.

Commanding officer for the St Andrew Central Police Division Superintendent Mark Harris said the division has largely brought organised gang activity under control, but is now grappling with murders arising from personal disputes, many of which occur without warning and in communities not traditionally associated with violent crime. He said this shift has presented a more complex policing challenge because, unlike gang conflicts, interpersonal disputes are far less predictable.

Speaking on the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s (JCF) Force4Good podcast, Harris said the division recorded the largest reduction in murders across the Jamaica Constabulary Force last year and even went an entire month without a murder this February. However, he noted that while gang-related killings have declined significantly, police are increasingly being challenged by crimes rooted in personal and domestic disputes.

“Last year, I had gang issues, [but] this year, we don’t have a gang issue, we have criminals committing crimes, but it’s not associated with gangs, like 2024 and part of 2025, and believe it or not, gang conflict is easier to police than the interpersonal and the domestic issues,” he noted.

The St Andrew Central Police Division encompasses some of Jamaica’s busiest commercial, educational and transport hubs, including Half-Way-Tree, New Kingston, Cross Roads and Papine. It is also responsible for policing major national events, entertainment activities and sporting fixtures that are often held at the National Stadium, making it one of the JCF’s most demanding divisions.

The division also includes communities such as August Town and Nannyville, both of which have experienced persistent gang activity and periodic security operations over the years. August Town was placed under a Zone of Special Operations in 2020 following years of deadly gang violence, while Nannyville has repeatedly featured in anti-gang and anti-gun operations as police sought to dismantle organised criminal networks operating across Kingston and St Andrew.

Despite that history, Harris said the division’s greatest challenge is no longer organised gangs but the rise in deadly interpersonal conflicts.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Michael Phipps, commander of Area Four, said St Andrew Central remains critical to crime management across Kingston and St Andrew. 

“We know where the gangs are and where they operate and who they’re in conflict with, and we put police right there…but for the interpersonal things, even in Jack’s Hill we have murders [and] that is not normally a place where we have murders… and these are interpersonal, rather than gang conflict,” he explained.

He said the division is relying not only on intelligence-led operations but also stronger community partnerships to prevent personal disputes from escalating into violence.

“We go out there and do the hard policing, we still have our community engagement. We had to do those meetings at the Transport Centre to speak to students and parents and stakeholders,” Harris noted.

Meanwhile, Area Four Commander Assistant Commissioner of Police Michael Phipps said St Andrew Central remains critical to crime management across Kingston and St Andrew because of its concentration of commercial activity, major institutions and daily commuter traffic.

He noted that the division has also experienced a significant number of fatal attacks involving weapons other than firearms, reflecting the growing challenge posed by interpersonal violence.

“I can tell you here and now that St Andrew Central has had a very high number of murders resulting from the use of knives and other blunt-force trauma injuries that have resulted in death. So we see St Andrew Central as one of the most important divisions if we are to maintain control of crime across Area Four,” Phipps said.