Murders up 18 per cent for first-half of 2015
Published:Monday | June 29, 2015 | 1:17 PM
New figures obtained by The Gleaner/Power 106 News Centre indicate that there has been an 18 per cent increase in murders for the first six months of the year.
The percentage increase is consistent with an update given in May.
Up to yesterday, 572 murders were recorded for 2015.
This is 86 more than the 486 killings recorded for the similar period last year.
In May, Police Commissioner, Dr Carl Williams said he was not overly worried about the increases adding that criminal gangs were responsible for 50 per cent of the murders recorded.
During the same month, National Security Minister Peter Bunting said the upsurge in murders across the island was what he called a"bump in the road".
Last year, the police recorded 1,005 murders, a 16 per cent decline when compared to the 1,197 persons who were reportedly killed in 2013.