No spike in murders – Chang

National Security Minister Dr Horace Chang said that Jamaica did not experience a spike in murders in January.

The country recorded 131 murders last month, which is 11 more than were recorded in January 2020. Some 149 murders were recorded in January 2019.

"These statistics for January 2021 are deeply concerning, but they do not indicate a spike," Chang said in the House of Representatives yesterday. He said that since 2018, Jamaica has been on a "fairly stable path".

Chang pointed to a 2019 report of the Jamaica National Crime Victimisation Survey which indicates that 70.1 per cent of Jamaicans felt safe walking alone in their community at night, and approximately 90 per cent felt safe in their homes.

"The seeming paradox of this data provides much food for thought. It tells us that our people feel safe in their homes and in their communities. It also confirms that the level of homicides and violent crimes that have plagued our society for decades is as a result of inter-gang conflict in which criminals are killing criminals," Chang said.

The minister, however, said that the murder of Andrew Lowe-Garwood who was killed in the Agape Christian Fellowship church on Sunday points to the "callous, brazen, irreverent, and heartless character of violence producers in our country". He said that while some members of our society seem to react only when the brutality and bloodletting hits close to home, the Government will not allow violence and mayhem to continue anywhere in the society.

"We will protect all Jamaicans. We will continue to invest in building police capacity and giving them the tools and resources to effectively and sustainably break the back of crime and violence in our society. We will also continue to pursue strategic social investments within the inner-city and vulnerable communities in order to provide hope to these residents, and to our young men in particular," Chang said.