Jamaica murder rate falls 24% in first half of 2026 amid deport row and school fee clash

Murders in Jamaica fell by 24% in the first six months of 2026 compared with the same period last year, when the country recorded a 30-year low in killings. Figures up to July 5 also show shootings down 27%, leaving 87 fewer murders and 102 fewer shooting incidents than at a similar point in 2025 — 275 homicides this year against 362 last year.

State Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister Senator Fitz Henley welcomed the trend as the fourth straight year of first-half declines, following drops of 7.8% in 2023, 19% in 2024 and 34% in 2025. He urged law-abiding citizens to back the security forces and credited Prime Minister Dr. Andrew Holness and National Security Minister Dr. Horace Chang for policies that include heavy investment in public safety under the Plan Secure Jamaica framework. Criminologist Dr. Jason Mai said sustained gains could push annual murders below 600, but only with a united national stance against gangs.

Jamaica ranks as the Caribbean's most peaceful country and third in North and Central America on the 2026 Global Peace Index, placing 70th among 163 nations.

Meanwhile, Minister without Portfolio Audrey Marks defended the government's position on a controversial United States migration arrangement, telling Jamaica Information Service CEO Giovani Dennis that US third-country policy was not hers to dictate. She said misinformation had spread online and that her March proposal to Washington focused on expanding seasonal worker numbers from about 20,000 toward 200,000, not importing criminals. Opposition Senator Cleveland Tomlinson, speaking at a People's National Party divisional meeting in Admiral Town, Kingston, on Sunday, questioned how a security-focused conference led to a skilled-migration pitch.

A dispute over school auxiliary charges also intensified. National Parent-Teachers' Association President Stuart Jacobs warned against exploiting parents, noting a 2020 ministry cap of $5,000 on registration fees while some high schools now charge more than $20,000, sometimes to discourage transfer requests. Jamaica Association of Principals of Secondary Schools President Aniona Jones rejected claims of exploitation, describing the payments as stakeholder contributions toward programmes and maintenance.

Opposition spokesman on housing Senator Floyd Morris criticised delays in distributing 5,000 containerised homes pledged after Hurricane Melissa, saying nine months on no family had received a unit despite government reports that the houses had arrived. He also cited slow disbursement of hurricane assistance funds.

Jamaica Employers Federation President Wayne Chen warned that the steady departure of skilled workers — part of an estimated 1.2 million Jamaicans living overseas — is straining every sector, including education, where STEM teachers leave in large numbers each year.

In Trelawny, businessman Mark Cummings said he would reopen Rich's Bargain Store beside its King Street, Falmouth site on Saturday after a blaze last Tuesday destroyed his shop and neighbouring businesses. Investigators have yet to determine the fire's cause.

The San Marina Foundation awarded more than $2 million in scholarships and bursaries to top PEP performers from Balma and St. Jude's primary schools, with recipients required to maintain a B+ average.