Crime figures on the rise in Portland – police

PORT ANTONIO, PORTLAND:

Commanding officer for the Portland police division, Superintendent Lloyd Darby, says that there has been an increase in serious and violent crimes in the parish since the start of this year when compared to the same period in 2022.

Darby, who was making his presentation at the monthly sitting of the Portland Municipal Corporation on Thursday, revealed that the parish has seen an increase in 11 types of serious and violent crimes for 2023 when compared to the corresponding period last year.

“Crimes showing the increase are break-ins by seven. We have 18 break-ins compared to 11 in 2022; we have seven robberies compared to one this time last year; we have three shootings compared to two the previous year,” he pointed out.

Darby said “(For) the number one crime of murder ,we have one less, three, compared to four last year. These increases are attributed to acquisitory crimes. So 39 serious and violent crimes have been reported of which 21 or 54 per cent has been cleared. Three crimes have been cleared for previous years, which means [that] our overall clear-up rate is 62 per cent. The comparative period in 2022 saw 28 serious and violent crimes with a 50 per cent clear-up.”

Darby noted that with the increase in break-ins and robberies in Portland, the focus is on stemming that increase, and that priority attention is now being given to those crimes. He noted also that one of the methods being used by the police to prevent a further increase in break-ins and robberies is to educate citizens on how they can make themselves a difficult target for those crimes to be perpetrated against them.