Jamaica murder rate falls more than 20% as road deaths raise new police concern

Major crimes across Jamaica continue to fall, even as senior police officials shift attention to a rising toll from road crashes. Figures from the Jamaica Constabulary Force show that murders and shootings, which began declining in 2025, have kept falling through the first months of 2026.

As of early June, homicides were down by more than 20 per cent compared with the same period last year. Data covering the first two quarters of 2026 point to the lowest murder rates recorded since structured national tracking began 25 years ago. Senior officers describe the drop in violent crime as sustained and broad-based.

Authorities also report progress in keeping order within schools. Although clips of campus fights shared online can make the problem appear worse than it is, the police high command says reported incidents of fights and assaults in schools were considerably lower in 2025 than in 2024. More than 200 officers have been trained and assigned as school resource officers to help maintain peace on campuses.

"We have over 200 officers that are trained and designated as school resource officers assisting with the maintenance of peace and order within our schools," a senior police official said. "Our investments in our SROs have seen significant returns. The reported incidents of fights and other assaults in schools are considerably lower in 2025 than it was in 2024."

Even with fewer violent deaths and injuries, officials say many Jamaicans are still coming to harm through reckless behaviour on the roads, especially speeding and careless overtaking. The police high command has flagged the trend and stepped up enforcement aimed at changing how motorists use the streets.

"So far this year there have been 127 fatalities," the official added. "We continue to utilize the enforcement activities to positively influence road user behaviour. Our citizens are moving around in our town centres with a greater sense of security."

Taken together, the figures suggest Jamaica is safer today than it was four years ago on measures of murder and shooting violence, while road safety has emerged as a parallel priority for the security forces.