Under-pressure Chang to make statement in Parliament as murders soar
The under-pressure national security minister, Dr Horace Chang is expected to speak to the worrying crime situation, in particular the increase in murders, when he makes a statement in the Parliament Tuesday afternoon.
Nearly five Jamaicans have been murdered daily since the start of the year, with the first 23 days in 2022 seeing 112 people being violently killed.
On Monday, the country’s security chiefs Rear Admiral Antonette Wemyss Gorman and Police Commissioner Major General Antony Anderson briefed the Cabinet on the crime trends and measures being implemented to reduce murders.
There has been an approximate 16 per cent in murders this year when compared to the corresponding period in 2021. More than 1,460 people were murdered in 2021, a 10 per cent increase over 2020 as Jamaica remains stubbornly among the top-five most murderous countries in the world.
The Government and the security forces have said the violence is driven by gang warfare and the lucrative lottery scam.