Bent

Petrina Francis, Staff Reporter

The Police yesterday reported that there were 31 fewer murders committed last month compared to the same period last year.

Although this represents a 24 per cent decline, when the total murder figures for the first five months of the year are compared to the same period last year, it shows a three per cent increase in murders.

According to statistics released by the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), there were 99 murders in May, compared to 130 for the same period last year.

The statistics also showed that there were 21 fewer murders in May, when compared to April.

However, there were 572 murders last year, compared to 586 at the end of May this year.

All but one police division in the Metropolitan areas of Kingston, St. Andrew and St. Catherine reported a decline in the number of murders in May. St. Andrew South reported eight more than the same period last year.

There were no reported murders for the parishes of Manchester, Hanover and Westmoreland, and all the other parishes reported a decline in murders.

Shootings down

Shootings were also down for May,with seven less than last year.

Deputy Commissioner of Police, Jevene Bent, yesterday said the decline in the murder rate for May was as a result of the hard work of the police.

"We have been doing some additional work on the streets and we have had some intelligence which led us to conduct several raids," she told The Sunday Gleaner.

DCP Bent also noted that the police have also been successful in neutralising gangs in the parishes of St. James, Westmoreland and Clarendon, as well as getting a number of firearms off the nation's streets.

Murders by month and year

2007 2006 2005