Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Delroy Chuck is appealing to the relatives of criminals to persuade them to surrender illegal guns, arguing that such action could push Jamaica’s annual murder count below 200. Speaking at the commissioning of new justices of the peace in Montego Bay, Chuck noted that nearly 80 per cent of murders over the past five years were committed with firearms and stressed that families also suffer when loved ones choose crime. 

Chuck says Jamaica’s murder count can drop below 200 per year

Jamaica Gleaner/3 Feb 2026/Christopher Thomas/ Gleaner Writer 

JUSTICE AND Constitutional Affairs Minister Delroy Chuck is urging the relatives of criminals to persuade them to give up their illegal guns, saying that by doing so it could bring Jamaica’s annual murder count, which is now trending down, below 200.

Delivering the keynote address at last Friday’s commissioning of 28 new justices of the peace in Montego Bay, St James, Chuck said approximately 80 per cent of murders committed in Jamaica over the last five years were carried out with guns.

“If you look at murders and the weapons used to commit murders over the last four or five years, close to 80 per cent of the killings were done with an illegal gun,” said Chuck.

“I keep repeating that if we can get the guns out of the hands of these disgusting criminals, then we could have less than 200 murders per year, much less; but that has to be the aim, that we try as best as possible to work with the police to get the guns out of the hands of criminals.

“We have to find alternative ways to get our young people to know that there is a better life out there, because when they are found with a gun, or they commit robbery, rape, or shootings and killings, they could well end up six feet down or in custody or jail for decades, and it is the families who also suffer.

“I am urging you to tell the mothers, the sisters, the girlfriends, that it is not worth it for your man to be out there using the gun and bringing in money for you ... . Before they get convicted, please encourage them to give up the gun.”

According to Jamaica Constabulary Force statistics, Jamaica recorded 673 murders in 2025, a significant decrease when compared to 1,147 murders in 2024 and 1,406 homicides in 2023. The 2025 figure marks the first time the country recorded fewer than 1,000 murders since 2003, when Jamaica recorded 976 homicides.

Since the start of 2026, Jamaica has recorded 33 murders from January 1 to 31, compared to 74 murders over the same period in 2025. There were 42 shootings recorded over the same period this year, compared to 72 shootings in January 2025.

Chuck noted that the farreaching effect of Jamaica’s declining crime rate can potentially result in the country’s reputation for law and order being strengthened, as reflected in the United States’ downgrade of its travel advisory for the island from Level 3 to Level 2 on May 29, 2025.

That travel advisory downgrade means that Americans would be advised to ‘exercise increased caution’ rather than reconsider visiting Jamaica altogether.

“If we can continue to reduce crime, and murders in particular, then Jamaica will get the credit and goodwill that we deserve in bringing crime under control. You have the United States advisory going from Level 3 to Level 2, but we want it down to Level 1, and it can get down if we can get crime even further reduced by another 50 per cent, including murders,” noted Chuck.

“We have to continue to put gunmen, scammers, and criminals on the defensive, and it is with the support of the citizens that that is going to happen.”

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