Jamaica is one of the most violent countries in the Caribbean. In 2024, there were approximately 40.1 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in the island nation. This was one of the highest homicide rate in Latin America and the Caribbean that year.

The crime rate in Jamaica decreased overall throughout the displayed time frame. Nonetheless, the highest growth was registered in 2012, leading to the highest value: ***** cases per 100,000 inhabitants. By the end of 2023, this figure had decreased to ******.

Jamaica is one of the countries with the highest homicide rates in Latin America and the Caribbean. Indeed, the number of people murdered in Jamaica amounted to 1,141 in 2024, slightly down from 1,393 victims a year earlier.

Historical dataset showing Jamaica crime rate per 100K population by year from 1990 to 2021.

Jamaica JM: Intentional Homicides: per 100,000 People data was reported at 43.200 Ratio in 2015. This records an increase from the previous number of 36.100 Ratio for 2014. Jamaica JM: Intentional Homicides: per 100,000 People data is updated yearly, averaging 41.373 Ratio from Dec 1995 (Median) to 2015, with 21 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 62.500 Ratio in 2005 and a record low of 31.688 Ratio in 1995. Jamaica JM: Intentional Homicides: per 100,000 People data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Jamaica – Table JM.World Bank: Health Statistics. Intentional homicides are estimates of unlawful homicides purposely inflicted as a result of domestic disputes, interpersonal violence, violent conflicts over land resources, intergang violence over turf or control, and predatory violence and killing by armed groups. Intentional homicide does not include all intentional killing; the difference is usually in the organization of the killing. Individuals or small groups usually commit homicide, whereas killing in armed conflict is usually committed by fairly cohesive groups of up to several hundred members and is thus usually excluded.; ; UN Office on Drugs and Crime's International Homicide Statistics database.; Weighted average;

Up to October 2024, *** breaking and entering crimes were registered in Jamaican households. In addition, up to *** robberies were reported, slightly down compared to the same period of the previous year. More figures about crime in Jamaica and other Caribbean countries can be found in this report.

Jamaica JM: Intentional Homicides: Male: per 100,000 Male data was reported at 85.058 Ratio in 2016. This records an increase from the previous number of 76.415 Ratio for 2015. Jamaica JM: Intentional Homicides: Male: per 100,000 Male data is updated yearly, averaging 86.007 Ratio from Dec 2005 (Median) to 2016, with 12 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 109.756 Ratio in 2009 and a record low of 63.558 Ratio in 2014. Jamaica JM: Intentional Homicides: Male: per 100,000 Male data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Jamaica – Table JM.World Bank: Health Statistics. Intentional homicides, male are estimates of unlawful male homicides purposely inflicted as a result of domestic disputes, interpersonal violence, violent conflicts over land resources, intergang violence over turf or control, and predatory violence and killing by armed groups. Intentional homicide does not include all intentional killing; the difference is usually in the organization of the killing. Individuals or small groups usually commit homicide, whereas killing in armed conflict is usually committed by fairly cohesive groups of up to several hundred members and is thus usually excluded.; ; UN Office on Drugs and Crime's International Homicide Statistics database.; ;

Historical dataset showing Jamaica murder/homicide rate per 100K population by year from 1990 to 2021.

In 2018, it was estimated that *** people were murdered per 100,000 inhabitants in Kingston, Jamaica. A year earlier, almost *** homicide victims per 100,000 population were reported in Jamaica's capital city. This Caribbean country has one of the highest homicide rates in the whole Latin American and Caribbean region.

Jamaica JM: Intentional Homicides: Female: per 100,000 Female data was reported at 9.330 Ratio in 2016. This records an increase from the previous number of 8.039 Ratio for 2015. Jamaica JM: Intentional Homicides: Female: per 100,000 Female data is updated yearly, averaging 9.777 Ratio from Dec 2005 (Median) to 2016, with 12 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 13.416 Ratio in 2005 and a record low of 6.953 Ratio in 2014. Jamaica JM: Intentional Homicides: Female: per 100,000 Female data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Jamaica – Table JM.World Bank: Health Statistics. Intentional homicides, female are estimates of unlawful female homicides purposely inflicted as a result of domestic disputes, interpersonal violence, violent conflicts over land resources, intergang violence over turf or control, and predatory violence and killing by armed groups. Intentional homicide does not include all intentional killing; the difference is usually in the organization of the killing. Individuals or small groups usually commit homicide, whereas killing in armed conflict is usually committed by fairly cohesive groups of up to several hundred members and is thus usually excluded.; ; UN Office on Drugs and Crime's International Homicide Statistics database.; ;

Several countries located in Central America and the Caribbean registered some of the highest homicide rates in the Latin American region in 2022. Jamaica ranked first, with around 53.34 homicides committed per 100,000 inhabitants. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines came second, with 40.41 homicides per 100,000 people. The source defines intentional homicide as the unlawful death inflicted upon a person with the intent to cause death or serious injury. When it comes to the total case count, Brazil was the Latin American country with the largest number of homicide victims. Central America and the falling rates El Salvador was commonly named the murder capital of the world for a few years. The inability of previous governments to control organized crime and gangs resulted in the highest homicide rate in the world for a couple of years. Nonetheless, the current administration and the measures applied during the Emergency State had an incredibly positive impact in terms of the security of the Salvadorean citizens. But not only El Salvador has seen a considerable reduction in its murder rate in Central America. Honduras and Guatemala are also two great examples of crime reduction, introducing new policies, institutions, and changes to their judicial system to achieve better results.
The Caribbean still ridden by crime Some islands in the Caribbean are not only known as tax heavens, as some nations in the region are considered the main enablers of tax evasion in the world, but also for being ridden by crime. Haiti is one example of the still rising levels of criminality. As a country with precarious conditions and extreme food insecurity, the homicide rate has been on the rise for almost four consecutive years. Another one is Jamaica, the top of the Latin American ranking, that has also seen an increase in the youth involved in organized crime due to lack of employment and economic conditions.

In 2023, there were 1,399 murder victims in Jamaica. Of these, 238 occurred in the parish of St. Andrews. Portland was the parish with the fewest recorded cases, with 14 murder victims.

Autocorrelation coefficient (lag 1) for the poverty and crime indices and Pearson correlation coefficient for correlation of these variables with the number of cases of severe acute malnutrition as assessed in up to 153 Jamaican communities.

This file contains data at the individual level for people older than 16 years old for the LAPOP survey implemented during 2014 in Jamaica. A new module on victimization and crime financed by the IDB is included in this survey's version. There are also attached technical information and questionnaires.

In 2024, the highest homicide rate among 22 Latin American and Caribbean countries surveyed was in Haiti, with around 62 murders committed per 100,000 inhabitants. Trinidad and Tobago came in second, with a homicide rate of 46, while Honduras ranked seventh, with 25. In the same year, the lowest rate was recorded in El Salvador, with a homicide rate of 1.9 per 100,000 inhabitants. A violence-ridden region Violence and crime are some of the most pressing problems affecting Latin American society nowadays. More than 40 of the 50 most dangerous cities in the world are located in this region, as well as one of the twenty countries with the least peace in the world according to the Global Peace Index. Despite governments’ large spending on security and high imprisonment rates, drug and weapon trafficking, organized crime, and gangs have turned violence into an epidemic that affects the whole region and a solution to this issue appears to be hardly attainable. The cost of violence in Mexico Mexico stands out as an example of the great cost that violence inflicts upon a country, since beyond claiming human lives, it also affects everyday life and has a negative impact on the economy. Mexicans have a high perceived level of insecurity, as they do not only fear becoming victims of homicide, but also of other common crimes, such as assault or rape. Such fear prevents people from performing everyday activities, for instance, going out at night, taking a taxi or going to the movies or the theater. Furthermore, the economic toll of violence in Mexico is more than considerable. For example, the cost of homicide and violent crime amounted to 2099.8 and 1778.1 billion Mexican pesos in 2023, respectively.

Summary statistics and Spearman rank correlation coefficient for the associations between socioeconomic and geochemical variables and number of cases of severe acute malnutrition as assessed in up to 204 Jamaican communities.

The Government of Jamaica (GOJ) is collaborating with USAID through a Government to Government (G2G) initiative to implement a comprehensive reading activity. The G2G activity supports the GOJ’s efforts to improve reading among students in Grades 1 -3 of 450 poor performing primary and All Age schools across Jamaica. The activity targets specific education regions because of risk factors, such as crime, poverty and unemployment. The CBSI component of the project benefits approximately 11,000 students and 200 teachers in regions that experience the highest levels of crime and violence, and are part of the Government of Jamaica’s Community Renewal Program. The focus of the G2G activity is to enhance the Grades 1-3 teachers' competence in the teaching of phonological awareness, phonics and vocabulary; and to improve Grades 1-3 students' performance in the fundamentals of reading instruction. The activity also seeks to further equip school principals and education officers in the effective management of literacy instructions in the schools that they supervise; implement gender based instruction; and improve the tracking and monitoring of literacy resources and programs of the MOE. Parents also benefit under this project as they are provided with basic knowledge and skills and strategies on literacy development so that they can better impact their children's progress in education.

Jamaïque: Homicides per 100,000 people: Pour cet indicateur, The UN office on drugs and crime fournit des données pour la Jamaïque de 1990 à 2017. La valeur moyenne pour Jamaïque pendant cette période était de 40.7 homicides per 100,000 people avec un minimum de 22.4 homicides per 100,000 people en 1990 et un maximum de 61 homicides per 100,000 people en 2005.

Unadjusted incidence rate ratios with 95% confidence intervals and Akaike Information Criterion, from Poisson regression models, for the association of explanatory variables with rate of admission to the TMRU ward from 153 communities across Jamaica (2000–2013).

Between 2020 and 2023, motor vehicle theft has fluctuated around 3,00 and 4,000 thefts per year in the Dominican Republic. In 2023, 3,328 vehicle thefts.