Treat murder emergency like COVID pandemic – Ahmad
Published:Thursday | August 20, 2020 | 12:14 AM
British High Commissioner to Jamaica, Asif Ahmad, said on Wednesday that Jamaica should adopt the urgency with which it has grappled with COVID-19 in its fight against violent crime.
Health officials have been widely praised for their management of the outbreak in Jamaica, and several polls have indicated majority public satisfaction.
Ahmad, who was guest speaker at the monthly luncheon of the Kingston Lions Clubs at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel, took no comfort in the statistics and made this chilling declaration.
“It’s a difficult thing to say, and perhaps even more difficult to hear, (but) more Jamaicans will kill Jamaicans than COVID will kill Jamaicans.”
He continued: “There was no lockdown because of the high homicide rate. Curfews are almost unheard of. If this country could have reacted to that underlying national emergency the same way it has reacted to COVID, we may be talking about a different Jamaica today.”
States of emergency in 10 police divisions expired on August 17. Although some of the directly affected police zones have recorded steep declines in murders, the overall statistic has declined by 2.9 per cent for the period January 1 to August 7, 2020.
Police data show that 784 people were murdered this year, 23 fewer than the 807 recorded in 2019.
Shootings have fallen to 721 from the 802 in 2019.
Curfews, lockdowns, and coronavirus legislation have restricted COVID-19 cases to 1,146 as at August 18. There are now 293 active cases here. Fourteen people have died.