By Chris Patterson
KINGSTON, Jamaica, (JIS) – Deputy prime minister and minister of national security and peace, Dr Horace Chang, has reiterated the government’s position that criminals will not find safe haven in Jamaica.
Closing the sectoral debate in the House of Representatives on June 30, he rejected suggestions that the government would bring criminals in the country, following the gains made in reducing crime and violence.
According to minister Chang the government, under the leadership of Andrew Holness, remains committed to protecting the country’s progress, strengthening the security institutions, and delivering a safer Jamaica for generations to come.
“Absolutely no criminal or those associated with them will be safe or comfortable to operate in Jamaica … . There are some who are perpetuating about a particular agreement … but to consider that I would bring criminals into Jamaica from anywhere of any kind after doing all we have done to reduce crime and violence is ridiculous,” the minister said. “The reality is that no criminal will have a safe haven anywhere in Jamaica while this government is here and I’m sitting in this seat. None, of any colour or creed. Jamaica has worked too hard to make our country safer, we’ll protect those gains, secure our borders and keep criminals out of the country and remove those who are here,” he continued.
Furthermore, he said Jamaica continues to make historic progress in the fight against crime and violence and a sustained transformation in public safety. He said at the close of 2025, Jamaica recorded 674 murders, the first time in more than 32 years that the annual total fell below 700.
“Our national homicide rate dropped from 40 per 100,000 residents in 2024 to 24 per 100,000 in 2025, a decline of 41 percent. That is not a marginal improvement. It is a dramatic turning point in public safety in our country. We are not pausing to admire the numbers. We are pressing forward. The data for 2026 highlight the downward trend. As of June 29, murders are down a further 23 per cent compared with the corresponding period last year,” he said.
Dr Chang noted that this has placed Jamaica on course to record one of the safest years in its modern history. If that trajectory holds, we will end 2026 with fewer than 600 murders.
“Just a few years ago, that would have seemed out of reach. Today, it is within sight and actively being achieved because the country has stayed the course and because this government has stayed the course,” Dr Chang emphasised. This progress did not happen by chance, pointing out that it is the product of deliberate policy, sustained investment, and the determined work of the men and women across the national security architecture.
Minister Chang stated that it is the result of major infrastructure investment under Project ROC, with police stations being constructed and rehabilitated across the island; record recruitment and promotion cycle within the Jamaica Constabulary Force, strengthening both capacity and morale; an expanded JamaicaEye surveillance network, and the continued modernisation of policing tools and operations.
The minister added that it is also the result of institutions that are being strengthened with purpose.
These include Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA); the Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency (PICA); the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF); the Jamaica Cyber Incident Response Team (CIRT) and the transformed correctional services and rehabilitation, with the recidivism rate declining from 41 percent to 27 percent, the most significant reduction recorded in recent history. The defence minster said that none of this would matter without the cooperation of the Jamaican people and the dedication of the professionals on the front lines or the commitment of those who work tirelessly behind the scenes.
“A safer Jamaica is not being built by institutions alone. It is being built by citizens who have chosen to stand with law enforcement, to share information, to reject criminality, and to reclaim their communities.”
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