ROBBERIES, larceny and break-ins all had high increases in January, when compared to the same period last year, according to the monthly crime statistics released yesterday by the Jamaican police.
However, there were decreases in murder, rape and carnal abuse.
According to the police statistics, 284 burglaries were reported last month, a 139 per cent increase when compared to 119 burglaries recorded in January 2008. The statistics also showed that there were 227 cases of robberies, compared to 157 the previous year, while larceny jumped 457 per cent from seven to 39.
Guns were used in 134 of the robberies and knives in 53. Murders dropped from 137 in January 2008 to 115 this year; rapes from 53 to 48 and carnal abuse from 34 to 18. The number of people shot and injured rose by one, from 115.
Yesterday, Mark Shields, the deputy commissioner in charge of crime, said recent job cuts and a drop in remittances in wake of the world-wide economic downturn could be contributing factors to the spike in robberies, larceny and burglaries.
".I can't scientifically prove that, as no research has been done, but it is just a gut feeling," Shields told Observer.
Shields said, too, that more stringent crime recording methods and a victims' receipt programme implemented in May last year had resulted in more efficient recording of crime figures.
The programme required cops who record reports of crimes at police stations to issue a receipt to the complainant and log the complaint. The police have also encouraged members of the public to report crimes at any police station instead of the age-old practice of reporting a crime in the police division where the crime occurred.
"As I predicted, the numbers of property crimes would go up because of the systems now in place. These have also contributed to the rise in numbers," Shields said.
Meanwhile, eight women and five children were among the 115 persons killed last month. A police officer was among the murdered.