Jamaica’s Commissioner of Police, Major General Antony Anderson reported an 81 per cent drop in murders, while shootings fell by 56 per cent after the declaration of a state of public emergency last month in the south-eastern parish of St. Catherine.
The enhanced security measure was announced by Prime Minister Andrew Holness on June 17 to address the high level of crime in the parish, especially murders.
The police commissioner said that over the 14-day period, 66 people were charged, 28 of whom were for serious crimes, including murder, shooting, and sexual offences, while six others were charged with breaches of the Law Reform Fraudulent Transactions Act or lottery scamming.
Providing the figures during a virtual news conference, he added that seven illegal guns were seized during the period.
