SENIOR Superintendent of Police (SSP) Oral Pascoe is urging agricultural thieves to abandon their criminal activities and find legitimate employment, warning that the police intend to intensify their crackdown on offenders amid an increase in large-scale livestock theft across Jamaica.

His warning comes as the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s Agricultural Protection Branch (APB) is reporting 1,424 arrests for agriculture-related offences islandwide so far this year, a more than 600 per cent increase from the approximately 200 arrests during the corresponding period in 2025.

“My warning to the thieves is that they need to change the profession of stealing agriculture produce for a living, because we are sharpened and we are determined to ensure that the farmer benefits from what they do,” Pascoe declared on Sunday in an interview with the Jamaica Observer.

“We have zero tolerance, and we’re going to ensure that once we identify you as a larcenist, and you prey on farmers, we’re going to put you on our monitoring list, and we’re going to target you for snap raids and other operational activities to ensure that you do not carry out those offences,” he charged.

Pascoe, head of the APB, disclosed that the increase is consistent with a seasonal trend in which the demand for meat rises ahead of the Christmas period, with some farmers losing dozens of animals in a single incident.

“Traditionally in Jamaica, in the Yuletide, meaning from about September, accelerating in October to December, there’s a spike in the demand for meat and, of course, our local goat and beef is preferred,” he explained.

He said that, while thieves would usually target one or two animals at a time, the police are now encountering cases involving significantly larger numbers.

“We have about three or four instances where they stole about 40 goats, 30 goats, [animals] in large numbers. Normally, they steal one or two during the year, but…the value of what they steal in terms of livestock is a lot larger,” he noted.

Pascoe further disclosed that the police have received approximately 230 reports of praedial larceny up to the end of September, with that figure climbing to just over 250 following an increase in incidents during October.

He identified Manchester, Clarendon, St Elizabeth, St Mary, St Catherine, and St Thomas among the parishes most affected, noting that the highlighted areas account for approximately 70 to 80 per cent of reports islandwide.

The Agricultural Protection Branch is alerting farmers and the general public to an emerging trend of large-scale livestock theft across the island, particularly involving cattle and goats.

The senior officer said that some of the thefts were not necessarily being committed by individuals acting alone, but by organised criminal groups.

He pointed to incidents in Colbeck, St Catherine, where several animals were reportedly being stolen nightly, forcing the police to intensify their presence.

“They were just going on, and four, five, six animals per night — cows, herds of cattle — were being stolen, until we had to set up foot patrol in the area…and do some serious investigation,” he told the Observer.

The SSP explained that some criminals slaughter animals in remote areas, a practice commonly referred to as bush slaughter, while others attempt to pass stolen livestock off as legitimately owned animals.

“Sometimes those animals end up in another farmer’s [herd], especially if they’re untagged…and they launder them, and they use their legitimate receipt book from RADA [Rural Agricultural Development Authority] and sell them on as if they are legitimate livestock, [as if] they are the owners,” he explained.

“So that is one of the practices that we’re stamping out. We have increased patrols in the vulnerable areas, and the sensitisation with the farmers have increased significantly,” the SSP added.

Pascoe also expressed concern that some farmers are failing to report incidents of theft, making it more difficult for the police to respond effectively.

“Some farmers are not reporting the situation to us, so we can’t respond. So, once we get a report, immediately, we have an operational response, an internal mechanism, to try to recover, arrest, detain, and arrest suspects, and try to control so that it doesn’t escalate,” he said.

The senior lawman encouraged farmers to report suspicious activities and the public, generally, to remain vigilant, while maintaining that the police will continue their operations to disrupt livestock theft networks.

“So just change your lifestyle, find something more productive, even going into farming yourself. It will be in your best interest,” Pascoe warned.