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Murders soar

Published:Monday | October 26, 2015 | 12:00 AMLivern Barrett

AS THE bloodletting across the island continues unabated, the latest police statistics have confirmed that with two months still remaining in this year, Jamaica has already recorded more murders than all of last year.

Almost 10 months after Jamaicans celebrated an 11-year low for murders, the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) has revealed that 1,016 persons were slain between January 1 and last Friday.

A total of 1,005 persons were slaughtered between January 1 and December 31 last year, a 16 per cent decline when compared to the 1,200 murders recorded in 2013.

However, according to the JCF's latest Periodic Serious and Violent Crime Review, the 1,016 murders recorded up to last Friday represent a 24 per cent jump when compared with the corresponding period last year when 822 were recorded.

The statistics painted a bleak picture with all but four of the 19 police divisions - Kingston Central, Kingston Eastern, Kingston Western, and St Catherine - reporting an increase in murders. The Westmoreland Police Division led the way with a 133 per cent increase, followed by Hanover, which reported a 74 per cent increase, while St Thomas recorded a 73 per cent increase.

The data also show that the escalation in murders reported across rural parishes continues to climb, with the 11 police divisions located outside the Corporate Area reporting a total of 594 killings so far this year, or 50 per cent more than the 199 murders recorded for the corresponding period last year.

A breakdown of the figures indicates that St James led the way with 178 reported murders, followed by Clarendon with 108, Westmoreland with 84, and Hanover with 54.

Despite the increase in the murders, the JCF figures show that shootings have declined by one per cent, robberies by 15 per cent, break-ins by 28 per cent and rapes by 23 per cent.

SEE DETAILED STATISTICS BELOW:

Murder
2015 — 1,016; 2014 — 822

Shooting
2015 — 898; 2014 — 906

Rape
2015 — 460; 2014 — 576

Aggravated Assault
2015 — 490; 2014 — 586


MURDER BY DIVISION

Kingston Central
2015 — 36; 2014 — 36

Kingston Eastern
2015 — 26; 2014 — 38

Kingston Western
2015 — 43; 2014 — 56

St Andrew Central
2015 — 39; 2014 — 33

St Andrew North
2015 — 32; 2014 — 30

St Andrew South
2015 — 66; 2014 — 54

St Catherine North
2015 — 108; 2014 — 111

St Catherine South
2015 — 72; 2014 — 69

Sub-Total (Metro)
2015 — 422; 2014 — 427

St James
2015 — 178; 2014 — 122

Trelawny
2015 — 21; 2014 — 20

Westmoreland
2015 — 84; 2014 — 36

Hanover
2015 — 54; 2014 — 31

St Mary
2015 — 27; 2014 — 22

St Ann
2015 — 34; 2014 — 30

Portland
2015 — 8; 2014 — 6

Manchester
2015 — 43; 2014 — 27

Clarendon
2015 — 108; 2014 — 73

St Elizabeth
2015 — 18; 2014 — 17

St Thomas
2015 — 19; 2014 — 11

Sub-Total (Rural)
2015 — 594; 2014 — 395