Cops finding fewer guns, ammo
Murder, rape on the decline, statistics reveal
Published:Tuesday | February 5, 2019 | 12:00 AM
Despite a year-on-year reduction in serious crimes since the start of the year, the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) has seized fewer illegal guns and rounds of ammunition in 2019.
This was revealed in the latest JCF Periodic Serious Crimes Review Firearm and Ammunition Summary, which shows a decline in the number of illegal guns seized (50) for the period January-February 2, 2019, when compared to 95 over the corresponding period last year.
According to the data, the 50 guns seized so far this year is the lowest haul recorded in four years. In 2017, some 100 guns were seized over the period and 52 in 2016.
Security expert Jason McKay said the reduction in the number of weapons and ammunition seized may be linked to the heavy security presence in some volatile communities in which there were established states of emergency and zones of special operations.
“Generally, law enforcement responds to crises, so if there is an increase in gun crime, you will find an increase in police operations, which may result in an increase in guns being found, which further will result in an increase in police engagement with the gunmen,” he said.
McKay explained that the recovery figures will move in proportion to crime. So with a decrease in murders, it is likely that fewer guns would be seized, McKay reasoned.
The recovery of ammunition is also at a four-year low, according to the data, with the police reporting the seizure of 484 assorted rounds compared to 1,234 over the same period in 2018. In 2017, a total of 958 assorted rounds of ammunition were seized, with 946 in 2016.
WEAPONS SEIZED THIS YEAR
The weapons seized so far this year include 25 pistols, 11 revolvers, six homemade guns, four rifles, three shotguns and one submachine gun.
The data also point to a declining trend in serious crimes, including murder, which is showing a 29.7 per cent decline, with 109 recorded, as against the 155 last year.
Shootings are down 17 per cent, with 112 incidents over the first 33 days of 2019 as against the 135 last year, while rape is showing the largest decline – 53 per cent.
The decline in shootings and murders can be largely attributed to security measures put in place in 2018, including zones of special operations and states of emergency in St James, as well as sections of the Corporate Area and St Catherine.