Gun Control Works, Tell Jamaica that

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Jamaica banned all guns in 1974, but murder rates almost doubled from 11.5 per 100,000 in 1973 to 19.5 in 1977, and soared further to 41.7 in 1980.

Jamaica 'murder capital of the world'

Every year global crime statistics present a planetary picture of crime and safety. In the past, some Caribbean cities have appeared on the list of the most violent in the world - but countries like South Africa and Columbia have topped the list.

But according to the Caribbean Media Corporation, Jamaica has now been classed the murder capital of the world, after 2005 saw more than 1600 people killed; a tally of at least five people murdered a day.

Jamaica's Prime Minister PJ Patterson said, in this final New Year message to the nation before stepping down, that crime was the country's most pressing problem and called on Jamaicans to play a greater role in the fight against it.




Latest Article on Jamaica's crime problem
BBC
Excerpt
In inner cities like Trench Town, Tivoli Gardens and Denham Town - scene of a six-hour gun battle between a gang of teenage boys armed with AK-47s and M-16s last month - this means high levels of illiteracy, teenage pregnancy, unemployment and nearly every household involved in some kind of criminal activity, major or minor.

Crime is impeding social development in Jamaica
Youngsters fight gang wars, older men travel to the city to rob and steal and the women at home often take a break from homemaking to carry drugs to the US and UK. There are more than 300 Jamaican women in UK prisons serving sentences for carrying drugs.