STATISTICAL INSTITUTE OF JAMAICA
Presented by
:
Sonia Jackson
Director General
Statistical Institute of Jamaica
1

 Introduction
 Classification of crimes committed
 Crime Statistics
 The link between crime and other social indicators – occupation and education
 Crime & its impact on the social & economic well-being of the country
 Some issues related to data on crime
 Recommendations
STATISTICAL INSTITUTE OF JAMAICA 2


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Definitions from the Concise Oxford :
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Criminal is “a person who has committed a crime”
Crime is “an offence punishable by law”
The study of crime must take account of the broad definition and not only offences against the person
Offences against the Person are critical but in some instances these crimes are linked to other breaches of the law
The correlation between different types of crimes committed must also be analysed
The objectives of the analysis of crime data are to provide information that will assist in defining and implementing strategies that will lead to behaviour modification.
STATISTICAL INSTITUTE OF JAMAICA 3

Offences Against the
Person
Murder
Shooting
Rape & Carnal Abuse
Robbery
Manslaughter
Infanticide
Offences Against Property
Burglary
House Break-in
Other Break-ins
Larceny /Person
Praedial larceny
Larceny of Motor Vehicles
Suicide
Felonious wounding
Larceny from Motor
Vehicles
Larceny from dwellings
Other types of offences Other types of Larceny
Miscellaneous
Breaches of the Firearm Act
Fraud
Arson
Dangerous Drugs Act
Other offences
STATISTICAL INSTITUTE OF JAMAICA 4

Victims of Selected Major Crimes 2007 – by Age & Sex
AGE
GROU.
MURDER
M F
SHOOTING
M F
ROBBERY
M F
BREAK-IN RAPE CARN.
ABUSE
M F F F
0-4
5-9
10-14
1
2
6
5
1
3
1
2
10
2
2
5
-
1 -
-
15 4
-
-
1
-
-
2
2
21
165
2
23
300
15-19
20-24
25-29
30-34
35-39
112 19
230 28
257 13
188 13
181 14
88 9
195 23
154 21
140 11
90 15
58 47
125 96
7 20
63 45
162 90 82 81
149 78 127 105
149 60 116 77
40-44
45-49
50-54
55+
123
107
48
101
19
11
3
12
100
64
36
42
15
9
3
6
127
77
53
28
63 64
111
71
68
71
74 49
134 33 176 76
Unknown
71 6 397 5 22 8 37 19
TOT.
1,427 147 1,319 126 1,082 521 865 613
242
109
52
43
23
16
15
6
12
4
710
-
-
-
-
138 265
613
655
604
536
M
TOTAL
By Sex
F
2
5
32
11
47
479
475
301
257
250
189
-
-
-
461
319
221
453
2 527
171
134
85
139
44
465 4,693 2,582
GRAND
TOTAL
7,275
13
52
511
740
914
912
854
725
632
453
306
592
571
STATISTICAL INSTITUTE OF JAMAICA 5

Persons Arrested for Major Selected Crimes 2007 – by Age & Sex
AGE
GROU.
12-15
16-20
21-25
26-30
31-35
36-40
41-45
MURDER
105
60
23
6
M
10
94
160
1
2
2
5
SHOOTING
F M
2
6
6
81
2 134
92
43
23
6
F
1
-
-
-
-
-
-
ROBBERY
M
11
86
99
F
-
-
BREAK-IN RAPE CARN.
ABUSE
M F M M
35
71
3 75
1
2
3
13
67
49
13
57
41
61
45
28
5 -
-
1 62
39
37
28
1
-
1
-
36
33
28
19
39
23
13
10
TOTAL
By Sex
M F
88
456
558
3
8
8
395
243
152
74
4
2
3
5
46-50
51-55
56-60
61+
6
4
2
3 -
-
-
-
6
2
1
1
1
-
-
-
4
3
-
1
1
-
-
-
9
8
2
2
1
-
-
-
9
3
3
-
4
3
3
2
38
23
11
9
2
1
-
-
Unknown 20 66 25 5 8 2 126 -
GRAND
TOTAL
126
40
24
11
9
91
464
566
399
245
155
79
TOT.
493 20 461 2 368 5 373 9 268 210 2,173 36 2,209
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Classification
Breaches of the Firearm
Act (Including illegal possession)
Fraud
Arson
Dangerous Drug Act
Other offences
TOTAL
2006 2007
Reported Cleared Up Reported Cleared Up
2,073 2,073 2,259 2,149
608
104
9,034
2,996
14,785
584
84
9,034
783
100
9,452
2,905 3,513
14,680 16,107
754
49
9,452
3,257
15,661
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Motor Vehicle Fatalities 2007 - by Parish
Parish
Kingston
St. Andrew
St. Thomas
Portland
St. Mary
St. Ann
Trelawny
St. James
Hanover
Westmoreland
St. Elizabeth
Manchester
Clarendon
St. Catherine
TOTAL
Accidents – Involving
Fatalities
16
41
10
2
6
26
19
25
19
23
16
23
18
54
298
STATISTICAL INSTITUTE OF JAMAICA
Persons Killed
6
36
22
18
43
10
2
31
20
26
18
30
20
65
347
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Offences
Possession of Drugs
Illegal possession of Firearm
Murder, Manslaughter
Illegal Alien
Robbery, Burglary, Larceny
Fraud, False document
Wounding, Assault
Rape, Indecent Assault
Kidnapping
Money Laundering
Other Offences
TOTAL
USA CANADA UK Other TOTAL
599 37 276 73 985
96
38
259
79
62
11
3
17
3
107 450
6 15
16 43
446
2
2
0
19
126
44
1,262
102
140
93
29
23
1
19
15
4
2
139
47
9
10
55
1,329
0
0
14 30
218 870
1
1
19
567
0
0
10
11
118
2,984
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Admissions to Adult Correctional Institutions 2006
- by Occupation & Sex
OCCUPATION
Self Employed
Professional
Skilled
Unskilled
Students
Soldiers, Security Guard, Police
No Occupation, Not Recorded
TOTAL
MALE
5
53
703
1075
23
34
30
1923
FEMALE TOTAL
4 9
16
35
69
738
1161 86
24
3
9
177
47
37
39
2100
STATISTICAL INSTITUTE OF JAMAICA 10

Admissions to Adult Correctional Institutions 2006
- by Education & Sex
EDUCATION
Illiterate
Poor
Fair
Good
Not Recorded
TOTAL
MALE
115
842
372
31
563
1923
FEMALE TOTAL
8
31
94
23
21
177
123
873
466
54
584
2100
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 There is the need to understand the contributory factors that lead to criminal and other violent behavioural practices:
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The role and impact of the family and the wider community need to be understood;
The dominance of young males as the victims and the perpetrators of major crimes;
The correlation between crime and the other social indicators , e.g. education, skills level, health, etc;
Motor vehicle accidents and the fatalities associated therewith are affecting the same population age group – young males.
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 Crime Statistics are gathered from the administrative records of the Police system island wide & published by the Police Statistics Unit :
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The issue of coverage needs to be addressed – not all crimes are reported, particularly those that occur within the home, and when reported the victim and/or the witness is not always forthcoming;
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There are no standards for the collection and retrieval of crime the data;
The system is largely manual – efforts are being made to address this problem .
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 The inadequacy of the justice system to cope with the increasing number of cases has resulted in:
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Cases are not being disposed of in a timely manner and there is a growing backlog;
Because of the delays in trial, some persons are detained for inordinately long periods;
Citizens loose confidence in the system and are inclined to apply “vigilante justice” in some instances – e.g. praedial larceny & carnal abuse;
Witnesses are not always willing to come forward to give evidence & some have no confidence in the witness protection system – the trial of some cases are compromised.
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 The Correctional Institutions are all overcrowded;
 The buildings and the operating systems are old and in need of refurbishing;
 The rehabilitation programmes are being upgraded to offer life skills and earning skills.
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Sections of downtown Kingston are feared and there has been steady migration out of these areas;
The infrastructure in downtown Kingston is underutilised;
Growth of informal land settlements, mainly the urban centres, with high population densities provide a heaven for criminal activities and make policing difficult;
In violence prone communities economic and social activities have been considerably reduced, schools are under-populated and when there is a “flare-up” of violence businesses and schools close;
Persons who reside in these communities do not provide their correct addresses when seeking jobs – the fear of being discriminated against in the selection process;
The social fibre of the families are being affected as the perpetrators and the victims of crime are mainly young males;
Growth in private security companies and “gated” communities;
Greater difficulty in data collection – concerns for safety of interviewers and the challenge of gaining access to gated communities.
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Guidelines need to be provided for the collection and analysis of data on crime using the administrative data sets;
The data collection process within the various systems must be harmonised to link the data on the individual from arrest through conviction and punishment, custodial and non-custodial;
The classification of crimes need to standardised at the international level;
Validation of crime statistics is necessary and can be achieved through victimisation surveys – guidelines need to established
The data collection process must ensure that the victims, the witnesses of crime and the communities and families from which they come do not feel that they are on trial;
The data collection procedure needs to be standardised and modernised;
The impact of “deportees” with criminal records need to be monitored – this may require new legislation as these persons have not committed a crime in the country to which they have been deported.
STATISTICAL INSTITUTE OF JAMAICA 17

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The Judiciary
–
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The system needs to be strengthened so that cases can be heard and resolved in shorter periods;
The laws need to be reviewed – particularly in relation to application of sentences where there is conviction.
The Penal System
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The system needs to be modernised and the over crowding reduced.
The Society
–
The social and cultural factors that contribute to aggression, violence and criminal tendencies within the society have to be studied;
Gender issues must be studied and understood; gender inequalities addressed.
The strategies used by the Police and the Military in crime management & apprehension need to be reformed.
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Legislative
–
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Legislative reform in respect to offences against the person need to be gender neutral to address the growing problem being experienced by males – e.g. issues of rape, carnal abuse and indecent assault;
There is the need for legislation that will allow for monitoring, over a specific period of time, of “deportees” with criminal records;
The International Community is required to -
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Develop a standard classification for crime statistics;
Develop and provide guidelines for the collection and analysis of crime statistics;
Develop and provide guidelines for the conduct and analysis of victimisation surveys;
Set targets and direct strategies for intervention at the national level in the same way that the MDGs were developed to address poverty reduction.
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 Economic and Social Survey Jamaica 2007a publication of the Planning Institute of
Jamaica
 The website of the Correctional Services
Department – for custodial data http://www.dcsj.net/p/stats2006custodial.xls
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