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Poverty to Prosperity
Budget Presentation
Gordon House March 19, 2015
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People do not feel safe in their communities.
No government can be comfortable with a situation such as this.
Interestingly Mr. Speaker, whenever the Jamaica Labour Party is in power we see a fall in
the crime rate. Mr. Speaker, we don‟t have to be confused as to the reason for this and if
there is a question as to why this is so, the answer is simple: „
It‟s the economy stupid‟.
When we gained independence in 1962, Jamaica recorded fewer than 100 murders. In fact,
the number was 63, mostly the result of domestic violence. By 1972, Jamaica was recording
close to 200 for the year and was seeing increased usage of illegal guns in murders and
other violent crimes. By the first decade of the 21
st
century we were averaging over 1,000
murders per year and in 2005 we were labeled the murder capital of the world.
In 2005, under a PNP administration, Jamaica was slapped with the unenviable
designation - murder capital of the world.
Mr. Speaker, our vision for Jamaica takes into consideration not only the rate of crime, but
the fundamental issues that cause crime. We believe in the tried, tested and proven
approaches to crime fighting.
The 2013 revision of Jamaica National Security Policy (NSP) notes: “Jamaica currently has
one of the highest per capita levels of homicide and violent crimes in the world. This is the
result of a combination of factors; including imports of illegal firearms and ammunition; the
supply of and trans-shipment of illegal narcotics; financial frauds, including Ponzi Schemes