Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness renewed states of emergency in eight parishes last week to control an ongoing threat of crime linked to gang activity.
Extra security is seen at St Ann, Clarendon, St Catherine, Kingston, St Andrew, St James, Westmoreland, and Hanover to curtail increased criminal activities and bolster public safety.
Crime has become so rife in Jamaica that Holness announced in November regional states of emergency, which allow authorities to search buildings and arrest citizens without a warrant.
"While we have had reasonable success in controlling the number of murders leading up to and during the Christmas season, the threat levels for ongoing gang conflicts remain elevated and extensive in scale," Holness said.
Police Commissioner Antony Anderson announced that Jamaica recorded an average of nearly five murders per day in September. The previous states of emergency, as well as new firearms legislation, have caused violent crime to decline, he said. There were 1,463 murders in Jamaica in 2021, with gang activity accounting for 71% of these, according to official data.
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