Zero murders in eight police divisions in October - Blake

No murders were recorded in eight police divisions last month, Police Commissioner Dr Kevin Blake has disclosed.

Among them are the Kingston Central, Kingston East, St Andrew Central and St Andrew North divisions, which cover some of the most volatile communities in Jamaica with some of the most deadly criminal gangs.

The other police divisions with zero murders last month are St Thomas, Portland, Trelawny and Manchester.

Blake noted, in his weekly column in the Force Orders, that he could not recall a time when eight police divisions recorded zero murders in a month.

The Force Orders is the internal publication for members of the police force.

“I want to commend the teams of the Trelawny, Portland, Manchester, St Andrew Central, Kingston Central, Kingston East, St Andrew North and St Thomas divisions for delivering a month where no one had to mourn the loss of their loved ones by the hands of violent thugs,” Blake wrote.

He singled out the St Andrew Central division, which he said recorded one murder in the last three months, and the Manchester division, which was “seriously challenged with violent conflicts” since the start of the year.

The disclosures come as Jamaica’s murder toll continues to decline.

The police recorded a total of 439 murders since January 1 this year, 131 or 23 per cent less year-on-year.

A total of 673 murders were recorded in Jamaica last year, the lowest in decades and a 40 per cent drop when compared with 2024.

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