Murders in Jamaica’s drop 15% in 2024

With just over half of the current year elapsing, murders in Jamaica fell 14.5 percent to July 6 compared with the same period last year, with 602 persons murdered committed, down from 704 last year for the same period, data from Jamaica Constabulary Force show.
Last year murders were down 12.5 percent to 655 compared with 749 for the same period in 2022. If the trend so far in 2024 continues murders could fall below 1,200 for the first time since 2015.
This is the second year of a steep decline in murders in Jamaica in recent times but the third year of decline as 2023 was marginally lower than the 1,508 murders in 2022. Last year murders fell from 1,498 to 1393, a 9.3 percent fall, a development that bodes well for the country and its economy. Continued economic growth in the country and reduction in unemployment will aid in the fall in murders in the future historical data suggest.
Some murder hotspots are seeing a turnaround in 2024 but others have moved in the opposite direction. For the year to date, murders skyrocketed 77 percent in St Andrew Central to 39, St Andrew South had an increase of 27 percent to 33, Kingston Eastern saw 13 percent more murders with 34 persons dying by unlawful means. St Elizabeth suffered a 39 percent increase with 18 murders and Trelawny had 13 persons murdered, an increase of 30 percent.
The hotspots for murders of St James and Westmoreland saw a reduction of 31 and 12 percent to 73 and 57 murders respectively, St Ann has a decrease of 24 percent from 42 murders last year to 32 this year, Clarendon had a 38 percent fall to 37 from 60 in 2023, while Kingston Western dropped 39 percent higher to 28. St Andrew South lost 20 percent of its residents with 51 persons losing their lives by murderers compared with 64 in 2023 to early July. St Catherine North had a 10 percent reduction in murders with 46 versus 51 in the same period in 2023 and the South saw 19 percent fewer persons falling to their death by unlawful means with 44 deaths, down from 54 in 2023.