In order to combat a persistent danger of crime associated with gang activities in the Caribbean, Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness renewed emergency declarations in eight parishes on Wednesday.
Regional states of emergency, which permit police to search premises and detain people without a warrant, were declared by Holness on Nov. 15.
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During a recent press conference, Holness noted, “while we have had reasonable success in controlling the number of murders leading up to and during the Christmas season, the threat levels for ongoing gang conflicts … (remain) elevated and extensive in scale.”
At the same news briefing, Jamaican Police Commissioner Antony Anderson stated that the country averaged nearly five murders daily in September.
He claimed that violent crime has decreased due to recent declarations of emergency and new gun laws. According to statistics provided by the government, gang activity was responsible for 71% of the 1,463 homicides in Jamaica in 2021.
The individual claimed he was arbitrarily detained during a state of national emergency and held in jail for months without being tried. The Jamaican Supreme Court found in June that the government had breached his rights.
The region’s highest murder rate is found in this nation.
