The police have cited social intervention as one of the major contributors to the island's slowing crime rate.

Murders, shootings, rape and carnal abuse have all dropped significantly, when compared with the last two years.

Homicides in January fell to their lowest levels in 24 months, plunging by 16 per cent when compared with the same period last year and by nearly 23 per cent when compared with January 2007.

Gang violence continued to account for most of the nation's murders, the police statistics indicate, primarily in the areas of south St Andrew, central St Andrew and St Catherine.

Reports of shooting declined marginally - by one per cent - but rape and carnal abuse fell by nine and 47 per cent, respectively.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Mark Shields, Jamaica's crime chief, says while there has been an improvement in police strategy to c****at criminals, the fall in the number of murders is largely due to the success of the intervention of social groups such as the Peace Management Initiative (PMI) and the Violence Prevention Alliance (VPA).

"We (police) cannot take all the credit. I think that organisations such as the PMI are working very passionately and patiently to bring some of these groups together to solve some of these murders," he says.

Peace agreement

He cited the reduction of murders in August Town, St Andrew, as an example of the effectiveness of civic-group intervention. Last year, the PMI brokered a peace agreement between warring factions in the community.

Chairman of the VPA, Dr Elizabeth Ward, says while social intervention programmes are reaching their target audience, many remain starved of resources. With a cash injection of even $10 million more annually to social intervention, she said, many non-governmental groups could double their efficiency and reach.

"The interventions are helping, but I wouldn't hold my breath. If they are not supported and sustained over time ... the intrinsic problems - the layoffs and shortage of day jobs and all these kinds of things - are probably going to put a lot of pressure back on those communities," Ward lamented.

She also noted that when crime rates fell, social groups were faced with more pressure.

"To keep it (crime) down is going to require 10 times the work that it took to get it down and are we willing to put that in?" she questioned.