Commentary

Keeping the murder rate low

A STORY PUBLISHED in yesterday's GLEANER said last week Jamaica experienced the lowest murder rate since the start of year.

According to the story 18 persons were murdered last week, 17 fewer than the week before. The story also pointed out that the last time the country experienced this low murder rate was in early December last year when a similar number of persons were murdered in crime-related incidents.

This decline in the murder rate is a welcome change to the weekly reports that have been driving fear and hopelessness into the nation.

But, another important thing which the story identified was that the crime rate was low in St. Thomas, Portland and Manchester.

This gives one hope and points out something that many of us knew all along ­ that the crime problem is largely concentrated in the urban parts of the island.

Recent crime reports have suggested that some quiet parishes have been experiencing an upsurge in murders, but this does not take away from the fact that the majority of persons being murdered daily are from our cities.

This suggests that the Government ought to implement better strategies to curb crime in these areas. Policing in these areas can be difficult. However the crime problem can be addressed if all stakeholders join together in a concerted effort to tackle the problem with the solutions tailored to fit the problem.