Based on JCF statistics, 73 murders were reported in January 2016 compared with 103 in January 2015, a decrease of 30 representing a 29.1 per cent decline.
When the January 2016 murder figures are compared with the December 2015 numbers, there is a decrease of eight murders or 9.9 per cent.
The parish of St James has the dubious position of recording the most murders of the 19 police divisions in the island so far in 2016. There were 11 murders in St James up to January 31, 2016. Clarendon is not far behind with 10 reported murders. The parishes of Portland and St Mary are the only ones not to record a murder in January 2016.
Crime Scene in Kingston
In an interview carried in the Jamaica Observer, recently appointed Deputy Commissioner of Police, George Quallo said one of the main contributing factors to the decline in murders was the strong “on the ground presence of policemen and women especially members of the top rank of the organisation.”
| POLICE DIVISION | January 2015 | January 2016 |
| Westmoreland | 8 | 5 |
| Hanover | 4 | 1 |
| St James | 10 | 11 |
| Trelawny | 0 | 3 |
| St Mary | 5 | 0 |
| St Ann | 3 | 6 |
| Portland | 0 | 0 |
| St Elizabeth | 1 | 1 |
| Manchester | 3 | 4 |
| Clarendon | 13 | 10 |
| St Catherine North | 24 | 7 |
| St Catherine South | 5 | 3 |
| St Andrew North | 8 | 2 |
| St Thomas | 3 | 1 |
| Kingston Western | 3 | 2 |
| Kingston Central | 2 | 8 |
| Kingston Eastern | 4 | 2 |
| St Andrew South | 4 | 5 |
| St Andrew Central | 3 | 2 |
| TOTAL | 103 | 73 |
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