FALMOUTH, Trelawny — Despite a more than 100 per cent reduction in murders in the parish since the start of this year, commanding officer for Trelawny Deputy Superintendent (DSP) Winston Milton is expressing concern over a recent increase in other major crimes.

These include sex-related crimes, including incest and rape.

Speaking at a mayor’s forum held in the historic Water Square in Falmouth Wednesday night, DSP Milton disclosed that nine murders have been reported in the parish since the start of the year, which is 12 less than the 21 reported for the corresponding period last year.

“So far, since the start of the year, we have done a very good job as it relates to keeping the crime situation under control,” DSP Milton stated.

“I must hasten to say, this is because of the dedication and the commitment of the staff, that’s police officers who do their work and of course the cooperation of the citizenship of Trelawny. We could not have done it without the support of our external stakeholders,” he added.

While he did not provide supporting data, he bemoaned the increase in rape cases, whose victims are predominantly minors across the parish.

“In relation to the incidence of rape, we are particularly concerned because in most cases the victims of this particular category of crime are minors and in a lot of the instances their perpetrators are persons who are known to them. It’s either relatives of the victims: like cousins, stepfathers, and in some instances, sad to say, fathers and neighbours,” the senior cop disclosed.

“We have been working assiduously with our stakeholders to educate our people in relation to this. We can be very trusting but sometimes we have to take precaution to ensure that our children are not victims,” he urged.

While commenting that residential premises are experiencing an increase in break-ins, DSP Milton also revealed that the rampant theft of gaming machines from bars has also pushed up the number of break-ins at commercial properties.

“Instances where business places are impacted have mostly been bars. The targets have usually been those gaming boxes that are in these business places,” the head of the Trelawny police said.

He implored operators of bars to utilise technology to secure their property when they are off-site.

“That is one of the main deterrents we have in relation to the committing of these crimes, other than ensuring of course that the building that houses these boxes are secured, are solidly built and not easily breached,” he advised.

In terms of break-ins at residential properties, DSP Milton advised that a major percentage of these occur when householders are away at work.

“As a result of that we have been going into communities. We have had our CSS [Community Safety and Security] people doing some assessment of some of the households, particularly the categories that are frequently victims of this category of crime,” he said.

The other area of concern he articulated was aggravated assault, “which is basically manifesting itself where our citizens are unable to resolve conflicts or disputes amicably”.