With the Christmas season fast approaching, the Government has declared several states of emergency (SOEs) across a number of police divisions, to arrest an expected surge in murders usually observed weeks leading up to the festive season.
The SOEs have been declared in the Western Jamaica parishes of St James, Westmoreland and Hanover.
The emergency measure has also been imposed in the parishes of Clarendon, St Catherine and sections of Kingston and St Andrew, except St Andrew Central and St Andrew North.
In announcing the SOEs on Tuesday, Prime Minister Andrew Holness said the increase in crime and violence presents a threat to property and public order.
“We have seen an increase in criminal activity in these areas and indeed a threat to property and in some instances public disorder,” he said.
Police Commissioner Major General Antony Anderson revealed, too, that the level of murders this year was over 1,300.
He said: “As at November 13, we have had a total of 1,360 murders in Jamaica. It’s really at that point an increase of 6.8 per cent over last year.
“The main drivers of these violent crimes continue to be gang violence which accounts for 71 per cent of all murders and interpersonal conflicts which account for another 16 per cent of all murders.”
Throughout the duration of the SOEs, the commissioner said the security forces will be targeting “guns, gangs and gunmen who are the chief architects of the sort of violence we are seeing in the society.”
Meanwhile, Holness said that with the Christmas season approaching, the security measures were necessary.
“It is important to note that we are also approaching the Christmas season, and this will require the deployment of even greater resources – sometimes resources that our security forces do not have, and, therefore, the Government has to act in a preventative way.
“The Government has to act in such a way to maximise the resources that we have to save lives and property from the threats that exist,” he stated.
He added: “The underlying threats are such that it will cause an increase in the number of murders and homicides that we see going into the next few weeks, and, indeed, we have seen murders over the last six months.”
Holness said he has been appealed to by several Members of Parliament (MPs), including some from the Opposition People’s National Party (PNP), to provide greater assistance in relation to increase levels of crime and violence.
Against that background, the prime minister says he is anticipating the support of the Opposition relative to the extension the SOEs.
The PNP has objected to its use, citing constitutional breaches, a point which the Court of Appeal ruled on and found that the Emergency Power Regulations governing one of the past SOEs were unconstitutional.
