Jamaica declares state of emergency amid surging crime and gang violence

Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced on Wednesday a widespread state of emergency across the island to fight crime and gang violence. 

“All Jamaicans should be able to enjoy the Christmas season free from the threat of violence. We have some really serious criminal threats facing us and we have to use all the powers at our disposal,” Holness said.

The State of Emergency will allow authorities to arrest people and search buildings without a warrant. 

“We have to ensure that our homicide rate and the level of violence that citizens experience on a daily basis does not get to the point where it threatens to collapse the state,” Holness added in his address.

The State of Emergency will be enforced throughout nine of the island nation’s 14 perished, including Clarendon, Saint Catherine, Westmoreland, Hanover, Kingston, Saint Andrew, Saint Ann, and Saint James, which includes the famous tourist destination Montego Bay.

Jamaica has one of the highest murder rates in the Caribbean. There have been at least 1,421 murders so far this year in the country of 2.8 million, compared to the 1,375 in the same period seen the previous year, according to a spokesperson with Jamaica’s Constabulary Force.

About 71% of the murders that take place on the island are related to gang violence, according to Commissioner of Police Antony Anderson. 

The country has previously established several State of Emergencies across the island, including most recently on November 15. 

The latest State of Emergency has been widely criticized by Jamaicans and opposition politicians, who claim that such a measure gives police more power and can lead to arbitrary detentions.