Not the time to gloat about crime reduction, says Chuck

Justice Minister Delroy Chuck says that although murders across the country have declined by approximately 20 per cent, it is not the time for the Government to end the states of public emergency or gloat and celebrate the reduction.

"This year, murders went up by over 20 per cent in the first couple of months, but in the last five to seven months, it has been slowly decreasing. We are now down by about 20 per cent," said Chuck, who was speaking at the installation ceremony for 22 new justices of the peace, in Trelawny, on Friday.

"It is [going in] the right way, but there is nothing to gloat or cheer about. We must get murders to a level where we respect human lives. Until then, we must try to get murders closer to zero. There is nothing to cheer about now," noted Chuck.

With respect to the states of emergency in St James and St Catherine North, Chuck described them as being extremely successful and argued that they should be continued in order to derive the best result possible.

KEEP STATES OF EMERGENCY

"Until we can get murders down to a satisfactory level and send a signal to the criminals, to the gangsters, to the criminal dons, that we are going to find them, this is not the time to remove those two states of emergency," said Chuck.

"You have a part to play because here in Trelawny, we don't have a state of emergency, not that the numbers are great, but murders have risen a little," continued Chuck, in a clear charge to the newly commissioned justices of the peace. "We want to get Trelawny down from last year."

Last week, the Trelawny police said that the parish may experience an increase over the 21 murders recorded last year. With four months to go in 2018, the parish has already recorded 20 murders.

"We want to see some improvement, which means reduction in the criminal statistics, and it means justices of the peace working with Superintendent [Dwight] Powell and the hard-working officers, who you see patrolling all around," said Chuck. "Don't engage in police work. You are not police. Work with Superintendent Powell, and I know Superintendent Powell and his various officers will work with you."

He concluded: "From where I sit, I can assure you that the prime minister, the ministers, and the members of parliament are all determined that Jamaica must eliminate many of the wrongs, the corruption, the indiscipline, and the criminality," added Chuck.