Jamaica recorded 333 murders between January 1 and August 8, 2026, a fifth fewer than the 415 recorded over the same period of 2025. Eleven of those 333 came in the week of August 2 to 8, up from seven the week before. The national trend is improving, while week-to-week numbers still swing, and the killing is concentrated in a few police divisions.
St James, which includes Montego Bay, has recorded 41 murders, more than any other division. St Andrew South and St Andrew Central have 27 each, Clarendon 25, and St Ann and Manchester 23 each. Those six divisions, out of the Jamaica Constabulary Force's 19, account for 166 murders, half the national total.
The JCF has invested in technology this year: an AI administrative officer, a camera network approved for a large expansion with facial recognition, and a body-worn camera push led by St James. What it does not have, on the public record, is a system that tells commanders where the next spike is most likely. This piece looks at what that would involve and what should be in place before the new cameras go live.
What the August crime report shows
The JCF's Serious Crimes Report, published in the second week of August and covering the year to date, shows murders down about 20 percent and major crimes overall down 17 percent on 2025. Robberies, rapes, shootings and cases of persons injured all fell.
Underneath that, the weekly count moves sharply: seven murders in the last week of July, eleven in the first week of August. A commander reading only the annual percentage would miss a jump like that until the weekly report came out.
Where the killings are concentrated
| Police division | Murders, Jan 1 to Aug 8, 2026 |
|---|---|
| St James | 41 |
| St Andrew South | 27 |
| St Andrew Central | 27 |
| Clarendon | 25 |
| St Ann | 23 |
| Manchester | 23 |
| Other 13 divisions combined | 167 |
St James has led the divisional count for years. Montego Bay's tourism economy sits in the same division as some of the country's most persistent gang violence. The division reports 89 percent body-camera compliance during deployed operations since June, 1,762 people charged this year through intelligence-led operations and 32 firearms seized. It is still first.
St Andrew South and St Andrew Central, both in the Kingston metropolitan area, total 54 murders between them, more than St James. Because the figure is split across two divisions, coverage that focuses on the top division tends to understate the capital's share.
Clarendon, St Ann and Manchester sit in a middle band. Their counts are high enough to matter and low enough that a steady shift in patrol time could show up in the numbers within a year.
The Core Argument
A national percentage tells the public the direction of travel. A divisional commander needs to know which few blocks need a patrol car at 9pm on a Thursday. Jamaica already collects the data to estimate that. It does not yet turn that data into a daily deployment plan.
What the JCF has already put in place
Constable Smart
The JCF unveiled Constable Smart, an AI digital officer built by Amber Group, at its Distinguished Mensa Lecture and Transformation Expo Launch at the AC Kingston hotel this year. It handles paperwork and routine processing so sworn officers can spend more time on patrol and investigation. It is office automation, not crime prevention.
JamaicaEye
JamaicaEye, the JCF's public and private camera-sharing network, had more than 850 cameras by mid-2026, and the JCF is asking businesses and institutions to connect their own cameras. Cabinet has approved a Ministry of National Security Strategic Master Plan to add about 2,500 cameras over three years, with licence plate and facial recognition. The Olympic Way Monitoring Centre, opened in Kingston in 2025, runs 51 high-definition cameras along key corridors at a reported cost of more than J$100 million.
Body-worn cameras
St James reached 89 percent body-camera use during deployed operations after June, with a target of full compliance. The JCF says JamaicaEye footage has helped identify suspects and build cases alongside forensic evidence and detective work.
All three are either administrative or record events after they happen. None flags, on a Tuesday afternoon, which blocks in St James or St Andrew South carry the highest risk of a shooting before the weekend.
How hotspot analytics would work
Hotspot analytics is place-based. It takes the incident data the JCF already records, adds camera activity, time of day, payday and seasonal patterns and known disputes between communities, and ranks small areas by short-term risk. The output is a resourcing map: where an extra patrol, a violence interruption team or a community meeting is most likely to prevent harm this week. It does not name individuals.
For St James, that would mean a block-level map in place of a division-wide count that treats the hotel strip and the most violent communities as one area. A jump like the move from seven to eleven murders would show up as a cluster of flagged blocks while it was forming.
The evidence on this is mixed, and I think it is the weak point of my case. Systematic reviews of place-based hotspot policing find modest crime reductions without simply pushing crime around the corner. Software sold as "predictive policing" has a poorer record: the Los Angeles Police Department dropped PredPol in 2020 amid doubts about its benefit and concerns about bias. A Jamaican system would need to be tested against simple hotspot maps drawn by analysts, not just against doing nothing.
Oversight before facial recognition goes live
Adding 2,500 cameras with facial recognition is a large expansion of state surveillance, and it comes while oversight gaps are already visible. INDECOM, the Independent Commission of Investigations, has called for more consistent body-camera use in planned operations, partly because of fatal police shootings: by its count, security forces killed twelve people in the first five days of 2026.
The same software that maps crime can audit the system. It can check whether body cameras were switched on during each deployed operation, and hold back any facial recognition match below a set confidence level until a trained officer reviews it. Other countries added these controls after misidentifications made the news. Jamaica can build them in before the first new camera goes live.
What should happen next
- JCF Commissioner's office: start a hotspot analytics pilot in St James and St Andrew South using existing incident data, without waiting for the new cameras. Run it for six months beside the current deployment method and publish the comparison.
- Ministry of National Security: make an audit system (body-camera activation logs and a confidence threshold with human review for every facial recognition match) a condition of switching on facial recognition on any new JamaicaEye camera.
- JCF Corporate Communications: publish murder counts by division every week alongside the national figure, so residents can see how their own area is doing.
- INDECOM: ask for read access to body-camera activation logs from the start of the expansion, so compliance can be checked independently instead of self-reported.
- Businesses joining JamaicaEye: before connecting a camera, agree in writing with the JCF how long footage is kept and who can view it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where can I check Jamaica's murder figures for my own division?
The Jamaica Constabulary Force publishes periodic crime statistics, including murders by division, on its website and through its Corporate Communications Unit. Compare the same date range across years, since weekly and monthly counts move a lot. Newspapers often report the national figure only, so go to the JCF release for the divisional breakdown.
What is the difference between hotspot policing and predicting who will commit a crime?
Hotspot policing ranks places, such as a few streets or a corner, by risk and sends patrols or outreach there. Person-based prediction ranks individuals, which raises much larger fairness and legal problems and has a weaker evidence base. Research reviews of place-based hotspot policing have found modest reductions in crime, and the proposal in this article is place-based only.
How do I complain if I think police misused cameras or force?
INDECOM, the Independent Commission of Investigations, investigates actions by members of the security forces that result in death or injury or that abuse citizens' rights, and accepts complaints directly from the public. Record the date, time, place and any badge numbers or vehicle numbers. Ask whether body-camera or JamaicaEye footage exists and request that it be preserved.
Does Jamaica's Data Protection Act cover JamaicaEye footage?
The Data Protection Act, 2020 came into full force in December 2023 and covers images of identifiable people, but it includes exemptions for crime prevention, detection and national security. How far those exemptions reach for a national facial recognition network has not been tested publicly. The Office of the Information Commissioner oversees the Act and is the body to ask.
Should my business connect its cameras to JamaicaEye?
It can help investigations in your area, and the JCF is actively recruiting private cameras. Before connecting, confirm what the police will be able to view (live feed or recorded footage only), how long footage is kept and who authorises access. Make sure staff and customers are told the cameras are there, and keep cameras pointed at your own premises and public spaces, not into neighbours' property.