St. James murders climb as Portland man faces kidnap charges and Manchester warned on scammer rentals

Crime figures in St. James have risen year on year, with police telling the St. James Municipal Corporation that interpersonal violence has produced seven more murders than at the same point last year — 37 versus 30 — while urging the public not to panic and recalling that the count topped 140 at this stage four years ago.

Officers say plans are in place ahead of a major parish event on July 30, including heavier deployment, outside support for traffic, and closer watch on airport arrivals expected a week earlier. They are asking residents and business owners to report trouble early as visitor spending and local activity pick up.

In a separate case, Port Maria police have laid 11 charges against 26-year-old Buff Bay, Portland farmer Kebra Mackenzie, also known as Bram, over the kidnapping and robbery of a woman in St. Mary on Sunday, June 21. Investigators say she was standing on the Cromwell main road about 11:30 p.m. when three men in a Toyota Probox approached; one in a ski mask and armed forced her into the vehicle, which headed toward Highgate. She was stripped of her phone, $39,000 in cash and bank cards, made to give a PIN, then left on the Cromwell Land main road. Nine thousand dollars was later withdrawn from her account. Mackenzie was held after CCTV at a Buff Bay supermarket showed him using a card taken in another robbery; he gave a caution statement admitting a role. Police are still seeking others involved.

Manchester commanding officer DSP Dean Dennis told CVM News lottery scammers have grown comfortable in the parish, often offering landlords up to two years’ rent upfront for empty properties. He warned homeowners that such deals can draw violence and urged stricter tenant checks.

St. Thomas division head DSP Rowan Richie told that parish’s municipal corporation crime there remains relatively quiet. The Jamaica Constabulary Force also mourned Constable Shivani Davy, 32, of the Traffic Enforcement Division, who died after losing control of a vehicle on the Swansea Main Road in Clarendon about 5 a.m. on Friday, June 10; the car left the road and overturned in a ditch.

Health Minister Dr. Christopher Tufton said about 20 public-health unions and associations backed the ministry’s accountability framework after a Wednesday meeting, including talks on staff welfare. In Kingston 11 near Sandy Gully, Waterhouse residents blamed missed collections for illegal dumping of appliances and refuse; NSWMA executive director Audley Gordon said dumping is never justified and worsens flooding, while Kingston Mayor Andrew Swaby pledged to push for steadier weekly pickup along the roughly 20-kilometre drain to Kingston Harbour.

Prime Minister Dr. Andrew Holness is in San Diego from July 11 to 14 for the Esri User Conference to accept the 2026 Esri President’s Award for Jamaica’s GIS work. Culture Minister Olivia Grange holds the government in his absence until Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Horace Chang returns the same day to resume acting duties.

Education leaders, including Jamaica Association of Principals of Secondary Schools president Aniona Jones and National Secondary Student Council president Rajim Nelson, called for stronger bullying reporting and student support as social media exposes abuse. The Jamaica Cancer Society, after a July 3 Chefs Against Cancer cookout, is pushing earlier screening; executive director Rashana Reed Komson said mammograms cost $6,500, with NHF and health-card discounts cutting that to roughly $600–$1,000, and cookout proceeds are aimed at a new 3D mammography unit. Cuba, meanwhile, has suffered its fourth nationwide blackout this year amid fuel shortages and an ageing grid.