By Glenroy Sinclair, Staff ReporterREPRISAL ATTACKS and domestic violence are responsible for more than 50 per cent of the 547 persons who have been killed islandwide over the last seven months, police statistics show.
From Monday to yesterday morning, at least 12 people were killed in separate incidents. Last night police reported that two decomposed bodies were discovered at separate locations in St. Thomas.
One of the bodies has been identified as that of Lloyd Anthony Brown, of Rockfort, east Kingston, who went missing on July 29. It was found in the Cambridge Hill area with gunshot wounds to the head.
"His car is still missing," said Det. Supt. Calvin Benjamin, Crime Officer for Police Area Four.
Figures from the police indicate that major crimes such as murder, shooting, rape and carnal abuse are on the increase.
"The flare-up (of violence) in the Mountain View Avenue area has contributed to the increase in the number of homicides," Deputy Commissioner Lucius Thomas, the officer in charge of Crime told The Gleaner last week.
At least 12 persons were shot dead within a month, following the upsurge of gun violence in the troubled communities of Mountain View Avenue.
He said problems in Clarendon and St. James had also contributed to the increase in the murder figures, but that the police have implemented strategies to deal with the situations.
Apart from curfews and a strong police presence in the troubled areas, DCP Thomas said there were strategies that the police have executed but which cannot be made public. During separate operations in Butts Avenue, Norman Gardens, east Kingston, and in nearby Jacques Cresent on Thursday, the police said they found more than 250 pounds of compressed ganja and an illegal firearm.
In the case of Wednesday's double murder on Pechon Street, downtown Kingston, of Howard Clarke, 46, of Campbell's Boulevard, Kingston, and of Ian Crawford of Garveymeade, Portmore, south-east St. Catherine, Det. Supt. Benjamin said the police were following several leads.
According to reports, Clarke and Crawford were sitting in front of a parked vehicle on Pechon Street, when they were shot dead by gunmen.
The Gleaner was told that Crawford, who had accompanied Clarke to the location, was "at the wrong place at the wrong time." It is alleged that Clarke was "wanted" by several persons in the underworld.
Police investigations say that the gun is the leading weapon used in cases of murder throughout the island. Since January, the gun has been used in at least 377 murders, followed by the knife, 89, and the machete, 37.
Th 547 reported cases of murder up to yesterday represent an increase of two over the corresponding seven-month period last year. Since Monday, an average of two persons per day have died violently.
According to the police, there have been 18 reported cases of double murders in the last seven months. Of the 547 murders, the police report that 149 of the victims were killed in reprisal attacks.
Another 122 lost their lives in domestic disputes, gang-related conflicts claimed the lives of 71, while the police are yet to determine the motive behind 82 of those killed.
