Blake fires back at detractors Commish says loud few trying to drag Jamaica back to bloodshed

Police Commissioner Dr Kevin Blake has alleged that a vocal minority has been using the platforms available to them to undermine Jamaica’s dramatic crime-fighting gains.

With murders at their lowest quarterly level in more than 30 years, Blake said some people appear uncomfortable with the progress and are trying to create conditions for a return to the violence that once gripped the country.

“Unfortunately, there are some who do not appear to welcome this progress. For whatever reason, they seem determined to undermine the work that is being done and to create the conditions for us to return to where we were,” the commissioner said in his weekly Commissioner’s Corner.

“They are few, but they are loud. Their efforts take different forms and use different platforms.”

While stopping short of naming anyone, Blake suggested that a small but outspoken group is working against the momentum generated by the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s crackdown on violent crime.

Blake urged rank-and-file members not to be distracted.

“We cannot allow the noise of a few to drown out the hopes and aspirations of the many. Neither can we allow those who benefit from crime and disorder to determine the direction in which this country moves,” he said.

“Our responsibility is to the people of Jamaica, and our mission must remain firmly and blinkered focused on making this country safer.”

The warning comes against the backdrop of record-breaking reductions in murders.

Jamaica ended the third quarter of 2026 with 122 murders, the lowest quarterly tally recorded in more than three decades. September accounted for 35 of those killings, helping to shatter a previous 30-year low established during the first quarter of the year.

Blake hailed the achievement as proof that sustained reductions in violent crime are possible but cautioned that the gains remain vulnerable.

“If we are serious about taking our country back from criminals and unlocking the tremendous potential of this great nation, then we must make a collective commitment that we will never willingly return to the days when it was considered normal for Jamaica to record more than 1,400 murders in a single year,” he said.

Describing the country as standing at a critical “reflection point”, Blake argued that Jamaica now faces a defining test.

“We have demonstrated that change is possible. We have demonstrated that sustained reductions in violent crime are possible. The question now is whether we have the discipline, courage and determination to sustain the momentum,” the commissioner said.