Mediation bill, crime data and crypto rules lead Jamaica Friday news

Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tuffton has told the House of Representatives that the Ministry of Justice's proposed mediation legislation could help reduce domestic violence and ease pressure on the public health system by resolving disputes before they escalate into injury and trauma.

During Tuesday's debate on the bill, Dr Tuffton said Jamaica remains a high-trauma society, with many accident-and-emergency cases linked to violent behaviour between individuals. Jamaica Injury Surveillance System data show 33,081 injuries were recorded in 2024, nearly 7,000 of them violence-related. Just under 2,000 cases of violence against women were treated at hospitals or health centres, while 2,593 violence-related injuries among men were logged. Dr Tuffton said intimate-partner disputes accounted for about 74% of cases involving women and roughly 35% among men.

He said community, family and domestic mediation could complement health programmes such as Problem Management Plus, which provides community-based mental health support for people affected by violence and other adversity.

Planning Institute of Jamaica figures show Crime Stop arrests rose more than 38% in 2025, from 55 to 76, while reward payouts climbed from $5.5 million to just over $10.3 million. Murders fell 41% to 675, shootings dropped just over 30% to 696, and rape cases declined 26% to 325, but aggravated assault rose 41% to 465, robberies increased 8.5%, and break-ins went up 17%. St Andrew recorded the highest category-one arrests at 297, followed by St Catherine with 197 and Kingston with 175.

More than 1,500 students and young farmers from all 14 parishes joined a 4-H symposium in Spanish Town, St Catherine, on youth in agriculture, resilience and food security, with seminars, networking and displays of agricultural technology.

Friday is the deadline for submissions on cryptocurrency and virtual-asset regulation. The Financial Services Commission opened consultations on 10 June and estimates Jamaica's virtual-assets market at about $2.1 billion, proposing anti-money-laundering controls, licensing requirements and business-conduct standards.

Regionally, the Pan-American Health Organization said Venezuela's earthquake health response is moving into stabilization and early recovery 15 days after the disaster. As of 8 July, authorities reported 3,811 deaths, 16,740 injuries and more than 6,400 live rescues, with over 17,000 people still displaced in 87 camps.

In athletics, national triple-jump champion Jordan Scott leads 20 Jamaicans at Friday's Ed Murphy Classic in Memphis, Tennessee, alongside Antonio Watson, Christopher Taylor and Lara Cameron.