THE EDITOR, Sir:
For quite some time now, Jamaican citizens have watched the crime rate steadily escalate year by year, and as a Jamaican living abroad, it has been of great concern to me. As foolish as it may sound, I have, over the years, found a bit of solace
amid the tragic sinking feeling that at least our murder rate is not and has never been the worst in the world. So, year after year, I attempt to confirm to myself that we have not yet won the gold medal in this event.
I have searched for quite some time today, and my discovery has been that Colombia's 2004 homicide figure, according to
a government website, has dropped 15% since 2003 to 20,112 cases for a country of 42,310,775 people.
I could not find the total
figures for South Africa for 2004, but I did find homicide figures for April 2003 to March 2004 which turned out to be 19,824 for a population of 42,718,530.
We already know that Jamaica had 1,445 murders for an estimated population of 2,713,130 in 2004.
If you calculate the murder rates, you will find for yourself that Jamaica quite possibly has the highest murder rate in the entire world. We are in the lead by a
substantial margin.
confirmation
This is a shocking confirmation for me and should be a wake-up call to the Jamaican people.
Jamaica is now beyond abnormal. It is in a severe crisis.
The sources of my figures are listed below:
Population estimates are from http://www.cia.gov/cia/
publications/factbook/.
Colombian 2004 homicide
figures are from http://alpha.mindefensa.gov.co/index.php?page=181&id=1479.
South African homicide
figures are from http://www.capegateway.gov.za/eng/pubs/public_info/C/86878/1.
I am etc.,
ANTON WILSON
anton.wilson@gmail.com
Via Go-Jamaica
