Prime Minister Dr. Andrew Holness says Jamaica is on track to record its lowest number of murders in a single month in decades, as the country continues to see sustained reductions in violent crime.
Speaking on recent crime data, Dr. Holness noted that as of Saturday, January 24, 2026, Jamaica recorded 27 murders—32 fewer than the 59 recorded during the same period in January last year. He said the figures suggest that January 2026 could become the month with the lowest murder tally in decades.
The Prime Minister pointed to 2025 as a turning point, with the country ending the year with 673 murders, the lowest annual total in 31 years.
He said the improvements are the result of deliberate policy choices and sustained investment in national security.
“We’ve established Plan Secure Jamaica, backed it with a $90-million budget, investing in our security forces and we’re now reaping our results,” Dr. Holness said.
The Prime Minister was addressing the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) 21st Regional Investment & Capital Markets Conference on Tuesday, January 20, at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston, where he highlighted the country’s recent crime-fighting gains.
According to Dr. Holness, the decline in murders has been consistent over several years. He said homicides fell by eight per cent in 2023, 19 per cent in 2024, and a further 42 per cent in 2025 compared with the previous year.
“As of today, we are 50 per cent below last year this time,” he added, noting that the downward trend has continued into 2026.
Dr. Holness stressed that the reductions were not accidental but the result of careful planning and execution.
“We’re going into a fourth year of the Plan because all of this is by plan; it’s not by accident,” he said, describing the Government and the police as “clinical, strategic, deliberate and committed” to reducing what he called the ultimate index of violence—the murder rate.
The Prime Minister also linked crime reduction to economic growth and investor confidence, describing crime as a direct cost to the country.
“Businesses will have to pay more for security, homeowners will have to pay more for security, [which] reduces your productivity, reduces your enjoyment and pursuit of happiness,” he said. “Most of all, it destroys the brand that keeps people coming here – the brand of Jamaica.”
Dr. Holness said the Government has intensified efforts to dismantle organised criminal networks that rely on violence to exert economic and social control. He listed activities including drug and gun trafficking, human trafficking and cybercrime, warning that such groups pose a direct threat to the authority of the State.
“When criminal groups are allowed to grow, they threaten the authority of the State… This is a serious national security threat, and I am focused on addressing it directly,” he said.
While reiterating the Government’s commitment to social support and economic opportunity, the Prime Minister issued a warning to those involved in crime and those who facilitate illegal activities.
“We will be just, we will provide you with the opportunities… but there will be firm consequences for you if you decide to pursue a life of crime and depriving everybody else of their safety,” he said.
Dr. Holness added that many individuals involved in crime could succeed if they redirected their efforts into legitimate enterprise.
“We want you to become business owners. We want you to become entrepreneurs, because much of the efforts that they put into crime, if they were to put it into business, there would be successes,” he said.
