DESPITE police statistics showing that Jamaica has seen a reduction in major crimes, a recent survey has revealed that the majority of respondents have a perception that the problem has increased.
According to the Statistical Institute of Jamaica’s 2023 Jamaica National Crime Victimisation Survey Report, Jamaicans 16 years and older living in a private dwelling during the time of the survey were asked whether they believed that crime had ‘increased’, ‘remained the same’, or ‘decreased’ in four distinct geographic locations: community or district, town or city, parish, and Jamaica.
A total of 88.6 per cent of respondents perceived an increase in crime in Jamaica when comparing 2022 to 2023. This represents a growing perception of a rise in criminal activities in Jamaica, as 76.5 per cent of respondents had the perception that crime increased when comparing 2018 to 2019.
Additionally, 67.8 per cent of respondents perceived that crime increased in their parish in 2023, up from 56.2 per cent who perceived an increase in crime in 2019. Towns and cities were also perceived to have an increase in crime by 47.8 per cent of respondents, an uptick from the 37.9 per cent who perceived an increase in crime in 2019.
The percentage of respondents stating that crime remained the same in their community or district was 55.9 per cent in 2023, compared to 52.3 per cent in 2019.
Residents of Portland had the highest perception of an increase in crime in 2023, with 92.7 per cent.
In 2019, the highest perception of an increase in crime was among residents in St Elizabeth, with 76.1 per cent.
