Area 4 police credit new tactics for steep fall in murders

Area 4 of the Jamaica Constabulary Force says a sharper mix of strategy, coordination and joint operations has cut serious crime across its Kingston and St. Andrew divisions, with murders down from 342 in 2024 to 181 in 2025 — 161 fewer killings, which police put at about a 40 per cent drop, described as unmatched in the area’s history.

Area 4 takes in Kingston Central, Kingston Western, Kingston Eastern, St. Andrew Central and St. Andrew South, districts long hit by violent crime. Officers say the gains sit inside a wider command overhaul that stresses closer work among divisions and a harder push to map and disrupt criminal networks. The police say they oversee about 260 gangs in the area and that sustained tactics are delivering results.

St. Andrew South has been a priority. Commanders say the work went beyond enforcement to include staff development and trust-building with residents, including street-level engagement in communities often written off as beyond help. St. Andrew South police say resident and staff buy-in, plus resources, helped the division last year break below 100 murders — a target many once called impossible.

Separately, the National Water Commission has begun nightly supply limits for parts of Kingston 20 after weak inflows and a long dry spell. From today, Washington Gardens, Maverley and nearby areas will get water only from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. until further notice. The zones are fed by the Constant Spring treatment plant, which depends mainly on Hermitage Dam and the Rio Cobre system. Hermitage Dam is at 54.6 per cent of storage capacity.

The National Children’s Registry logged 14,602 reports of child abuse and other protection concerns in 2025, up five per cent on the year before. The Planning Institute of Jamaica’s Economic and Social Survey Jamaica 2025 links those reports to more than 31,500 incidents, with behavioural problems, neglect and children needing care and protection the largest categories. More than 11,000 cases were investigated and over 10,000 were sent on to agencies including CISOCA, the Office of the Children’s Advocate and the Victim Services Division. Kingston led in referrals, ahead of St. Catherine and St. Ann.

At the Ministry of Education’s Higher Education Conference in Hanover, University of Technology deputy president Professor Shermaine Barrett said student success still anchors tertiary education. She pointed to structured first-year programmes that help newcomers connect, stay engaged and get support when courses, money, welfare or mental health issues arise through campus referral pathways.

In St. Elizabeth, residents say conditions are worsening as a fire at the Myersville dump keeps burning, with heavy smoke reported on waking and haze reaching Manchester communities including Montpelier and Spur Tree. Locals have blocked the road to the dump, forcing garbage trucks toward Manchester. National Solid Waste Management Authority executive director Audley Gordon told TVJ he knows of the problem and that work is under way to fix it as soon as possible.