Despite a reduction in the murder rate so far this year when compared with the similar period in 2005, Jamaicans are of the view that crime and violence remain the number one problem confronting the country at this time, according to a Gleaner-commissioned Bill Johnson poll.

Sixty-three per cent of 1,008 eligible voters said crime and violence was the most pressing problem facing Jamaica, a nine percentage point decline from the 72 per cent recorded when Johnson asked the same question in March, May and July.

The poll, which was conducted on October 28 and 29 this year, has a margin of error of plus or minus three.

In the last two years Government has stepped up its efforts to bring down the alarming crime rate with the recruitment of British police personnel and the establishment of Kingfish, the elite crime-fighting unit of the Jamaica Constabulary Force.

However, in 2005 the country's murder rate rushed past the 1,600 mark, establishing a new record at 1,671 persons killed violently that year.

Statistics

Statistics released by the Constabulary Communica-tion Network (CCN) on Thursday showed that at the end of October, 1,080 homicides were recorded, 321 fewer than for the similar period last year.

Improved intelligence and increased police presence in so-called "hot spots' are believed to be the reasons for a fall in the murder rate.

But even with the decline in the murder rate to date, Jamaicans are troubled by the frequency and brutality of violent crimes across the country, particularly in inner-city communities.

Other pressing problems cited by respondents in the Johnson poll include jobs, poverty, financial problems and corruption in Government. Thirty-two per cent of the persons interviewed felt that there was an urgent need for the creation of more jobs.

Pressing problem

Two per cent of registered voters listed corruption in government as the most pressing problem, an indication that Jamaicans pay scant regard to issues of accountability and transparency in government. This against the background of the US$43 million cost overrun on the Sandals Whitehouse project, which is now the subject of an investigation by the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament. The Trafigura Beheer affair also sparked intense national debate after the Dutch trader contributed $31 million to the People's National Party. At the same time the Dutch firm had a contractual arrangement with the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica to sell Nigerian oil on behalf of Jamaica.

Meanwhile, using the same sample group, Johnson asked: "Thinking about the area that you live inÉgenerally speaking, do you think things are going in the right direction these days in the area you live in, or are they going in the wrong direction?"

Fifty six per cent of those polled said things were going in the wrong direction while 35 per cent said things were heading in the right direction. Nine per cent said they did not know.

The lack of job opportunities in a number of communities was the greatest need mentioned by respondents who were interviewed in 84 communities islandwide.

In October, 54 per cent of the sample group polled said the creation of jobs was the greatest need in their communities. Twenty-three per cent of respondents pointed to roads while 12 per cent highlighted water problems.