Horace Chang | PNP soft on crime and gangs – Jamaica cannot afford to go back

Since 2016, the Jamaica Labour Party Government has led the most determined, coordinated, and sustained assault on violent crime in our modern history — and it is delivering real results.

Murders fell eight per cent in 2023, nineteen per cent in 2024, and in 2025, so far, have plunged an unprecedented 42 per cent year-on-year — the steepest decline in decades. For the first time in a generation, we are on track to bring annual murders below 800. All major crimes are down by double digits, now at their lowest level in 30 years. Communities once gripped by fear are beginning to live in safety again.

This dramatic turnaround is no accident. It is the product of leadership, consistent investment, and a structured, whole-of-government approach through Plan Secure Jamaica — our comprehensive, multiyear national security framework launched in 2017 to tackle crime on every front: enforcement, intelligence, prevention, and rehabilitation.

Under Plan Secure Jamaica, we have:

Expanded manpower – Recruited over 6,000 new police officers and more than 5,000 Jamaica Defence Force personnel, bringing the JCF to recommended strength for effective policing.

Upgraded mobility – Expanded the operational fleet by 1,600 vehicles for faster and stronger presence on the ground.

Improved infrastructure – Renovated over 150 police stations and built six new stations, with more under way.

Enhanced technology – Established state-of-the-art forensic laboratories, expanded CCTV coverage, digitised police processes, introduced a smart Traffic Ticket Management System, and rolled out digital case files to speed up justice.

Strengthened laws – Since 2016, the JLP Government has created the ZOSO framework to combine sustained security operations with community development, introduced much tougher gun laws with mandatory minimum sentences, made MOCA an independent law-enforcement body, strengthened anti-gang laws to dismantle criminal networks, amended the bail laws to allow extended detention for serious offences.

TAKING FIGHT TO THE GANGS

More than 70 per cent of murders in Jamaica are directly linked to criminal gangs. From the outset, dismantling these gangs has been the central pillar of our security strategy.

We have dismantled dozens of criminal gangs, seized record numbers of illegal guns and ammunition, and secured higher conviction rates to keep dangerous criminals behind bars.

Intelligence-led operations, targeted deterrence, and the strategic use of states of emergency have restored order to volatile areas. The Citizen Security Plan and Zones of Special Operations have revitalised communities, strengthened families, and offered young people real alternatives to crime.

The prime minister has championed this war on gangs not only at home but on the international stage — because transnational gangs and organised crime demand regional and global cooperation to defeat.

PNP’s DANGEROUS BLIND SPOT

In a country where over 70 per cent of murders are gang-related —the PNP’s recently released election manifesto barely acknowledges their existence. In fact, it does not even contain the word “gang” beyond one vague reference to “scamming networks” as if organised criminal syndicates were a side issue.

At a time when this Government’s relentless war on gangs has been the driving force behind a historic 42 per cent drop in murders this year, the PNP’s silence speaks volumes. It tells Jamaicans loud and clear that the PNP does not understand, or will not confront, the heart of our crime problem.

The PNP is signalling to Jamaicans exactly what they have always been: soft on crime, soft on gangs, and unfit to lead the fight for our safety.

WE REMEMBER THE 1990s

Jamaicans know what PNP crime management looks like. In the 1990s, under their leadership, murders increased beyond 1,000 per year, and Jamaica became known worldwide as the murder capital of the world. Violent gangs flourished, law enforcement was under-resourced, and public safety collapsed.

The scars of that period are still with us today. Generations of gang violence, community trauma, and entrenched criminal networks were allowed to grow unchecked during their tenure.

Today, after years of hard work and nearly a $100 billion in investment, we are finally turning the tide. Murders are down 42 per cent this year to date. Our security forces are stronger than ever. And we have a proven strategy that is delivering results.

REPACKAGING, NOT REFORM

Outside of their glaring omission on gangs, much of what the PNP now proposes is simply a rebranding of initiatives this Government is already implementing — from the Citizen Security Plan to ZOSO, SOEs, technology upgrades, and community policing. The difference is that we have the leadership, the investment, and the results to prove our approach works.

Our track record stands in sharp contrast to theirs:

When the PNP was in power, they starved our security forces of resources.

They failed to modernise laws, technology, or policing methods.

They allowed gangs to grow unchecked, fuelling decades of bloodshed.

THE CHOICE BEFORE US

The transformation of our security forces began under Major General Antony Anderson and continues under Dr Kevin Blake in one of the smoothest leadership transitions in JCF history. Both have driven professionalism, modernisation, and a results-focused culture. Today, our officers are more motivated, better trained, and better equipped than ever before.

These gains — delivering historic crime reductions and stronger institutions — are too important to risk. The Opposition has no credible plan to take on the gangs that drive most of Jamaica’s murders. Handing them the reins would be a dangerous gamble with your safety. The choice is clear: stay on the path of record crime reduction, or return to the PNP era when Jamaica was the murder capital of the world.

We are moving forward — we will not go back.

Dr Horace Chang is Jamaica’s deputy prime minister and minister of national security. He is member of parliament for North West St James. Send feedback to securityminister@mns.gov.jm.