“April 2025 has marked another historic milestone. For the second time this year, we have recorded the lowest number of murders in over two decades,” Dr Kevin Blake, the police commissioner, said in a statement.

According to Blake, compared to the same period last year, between January and April, there has been an 18% decline in overall major crimes, and murders are down by 37%.

But the human rights group Jamaican for Justice (JFJ) has raised concerns about a corresponding “significant and alarming increase” in fatal police shootings in the same period.

According to Jamaica’s police complaints authority, the Independent Commission of Investigations (Indecom), 111 people were fatally shot by security forces between January and April 2025, compared 44 in the same period last year – a 152% increase.