Jamaica recorded a murder-free day on Sunday, June 8, a milestone announced by Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) Area Five Commanding Officer, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Christopher Phillips. He shared the news during a thanksgiving service held at the Spanish Town Seventh-day Adventist Church on Monday, June 9.
The service also served as a tribute to nine-year-old Kelsey Ferrigon, who was brutally murdered on May 9 and laid to rest following the ceremony.
ACP Phillips noted that the JCF is celebrating this achievement as part of the country’s ongoing progress in tackling violent crime. Jamaica has seen a consistent decline in its homicide rate, with a 7.3 per cent drop recorded in 2023. Murders declined by a further 18.4 per cent last year.
According to the JCF’s latest data, 289 people were killed between January 1 and June 7, 2025. This compares to 517 homicides during the same period in 2024, representing a 44.1 per cent decrease.
Minister of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, Senator Dr. the Hon. Dana Morris Dixon, welcomed the positive trend in her remarks at the service. She noted a 34 per cent reduction in murders specifically in Area Five, describing it as “amazing to hear those numbers in Spanish Town.”
The Information Minister expressed her gratitude to JCF officers present and the broader police force, acknowledging their role in helping to lower Jamaica’s violent crime rate.
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