728 murder investigations cleared up in 2022

A total of 728 murder investigations were cleared up by the police last year, officials have disclosed.

Some 505 murders were cleared up in 2021.

The latest figure equates to a 49 per cent clear-up rate for murders, according to deputy police commissioner Fitz Bailey, who said this is comparable to better resourced international law enforcement agencies.

And there are 71 completed murder investigations where, according to Bailey, all that's left is for the suspect identified to be arrested and charged.

Some of the murders cleared up last year date back to previous years.

A case is considered cleared up by the Jamaican police when “someone is identified as the perpetrator of a murder based on real evidence.”

“When you look at the nominal figures we are doing exceptionally well,” Bailey said, making reference to the cases that were cleared last year.

“Comparative to any other country, that's quite significant,” he added, pointing to the average 50 per cent clear up rate for murder in the United States.

Bailey, who heads the crime and security portfolio, lauded his investigators who he said “are beaten up and not appreciated for their efforts.”

“In some first world countries, it's a team of about five persons that investigate one murder. In Jamaica, you have one detective investigating 10 cases. And it's the same detective who is investigating other category one crimes such as shootings and robberies,” he told The Gleaner.

The Counter Terrorism and Organised Crime division made a total of 409 arrests last year while removing 755 guns and 3,292 bullets from the streets.

There was also a marginal increase in the amount of cocaine and ganja seized by the police last year.

Approximately 1,368 kilogrammes of cocaine with an estimated street value of over US$68 million or more than J$10 billion was seized by the police's Narcotics Division in 2022, Bailey disclosed.

The division seized 1,230 kilogrammes of cocaine in 2021.

And a total of 34,840 kilogrammes of ganja was seized last year, up from 25,607 kilogrammes the previous year. 

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