Hanover commander vows to reduce murders

After seeing the murder rate for the Hanover Police Division increase more than that of any other division for the first half of the year when compared to the corresponding period last year, Commander for the Division, Sharon Beeput, has vowed to have the figures lowered by the end of the year.

"Well, I have only moved to this division just over two months ago, and we are doing a number of things to tackle the problem," Beeput said.

"But you know things don't happen overnight, so we are looking at a reduction by the end of the year."

Hanover recorded 19 more murders for the first six months of 2017 in comparison to the same period for 2016, according to statistics from the Corporate Communications Unit of the Jamaica Constabulary Force. Last year, the division recorded 13 murders.

Beeput said the proliferation of gangs in the division is the main reason for the hike in the murder rate. "When I moved here, the gangs were already here," Beeput said. "But we are in the communities every day doing a number of things to solve the problem."

However, the numbers of robberies and break-ins in the division have reduced. There were also fewer reports of rapes within the division for the period.