KINGSTON, Jamaica, Apr 13, CMC – Jamaica police say 385 people, including 13 children, have been murdered here since the start of the year, a 4.1 per cent increase over the same period last year.

The Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) said shootings increased by 0.6 per cent over the period January 1 to April 7, 2018. However, there was a 17.6 per cent reduction in the number of reported cases of rape and a 33.1 per cent reduction in aggravated assault.

The JCF said 301 people were killed by gunmen and that approximately 205 firearms, including 15 rifles and 150 pistols, have been seized up to April 7, this year.

The figures show contrasting crime figures for the two areas in which a state of public emergency is now in effect.

According to the police, in the St. Catherine North division, the police say up to Sunday, 51 murders had been recorded as compared to 38 murders in 2017, a 34 per cent increase.

However in St. James, there were 46 fewer murders or a just over 66% reduction when compared with the similar period in 2017.  The figures show that there were 69 murders last year as compared with 23 during the same period this year.

The police figures show that in St Andrew South, there were 55 murders since the start of this year, up from the 16 recorded for the same period last year and in Portland and Manchester there were four murders each recorded during the period.

Last year, Jamaica recorded more than 1,600 murders.