Jamaica recorded 33 murders in January 2026, marking the lowest number of killings in any single month since the country began systematically collecting disaggregated crime statistics in 2001.
The figure represents a 55 per cent reduction compared with January 2025, when 74 murders were recorded, translating to 41 fewer lives lost year-on-year. The sharp decline has drawn attention as a notable improvement in public safety at the start of the year, particularly when viewed against the country’s long-term crime trends over the past two decades.
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Against that backdrop, Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Delroy Chuck is urging relatives of criminals to play a role in further reducing violence by encouraging offenders to give up illegal firearms. He said doing so could help bring Jamaica’s annual murder count—now trending downward—below 200.
Chuck made the call while delivering the keynote address at last Friday’s commissioning of 28 new justices of the peace in Montego Bay, St James. He noted that gun violence remains the dominant driver of homicides nationwide.
“If you look at murders and the weapons used to commit murders over the last four or five years, close to 80 per cent of the killings were done with an illegal gun,” said Chuck.
“I keep repeating that if we can get the guns out of the hands of these disgusting criminals, then we could have less than 200 murders per year, much less; but that has to be the aim, that we try as best as possible to work with the police to get the guns out of the hands of criminals.
“We have to find alternative ways to get our young people to know that there is a better life out there, because when they are found with a gun, or they commit robbery, rape, or shootings and killings, they could well end up six feet down or in custody or jail for decades, and it is the families who also suffer.
“I am urging you to tell the mothers, the sisters, the girlfriends, that it is not worth it for your man to be out there using the gun and bringing in money for you … . Before they get convicted, please encourage them to give up the gun.”
The January figures have been welcomed as a promising start to the year, though authorities continue to stress that sustained reductions will depend on continued enforcement, community engagement, and the removal of illegal firearms from circulation.
