THE St Andrew Central Police Division, which is the commercial heartbeat of the Corporate Area, where thousands of Jamaicans live, work and daily, is confronting a changing crime landscape, with police saying interpersonal and domestic conflicts have become a greater concern than organised gang violence.

Commanding officer for the St Andrew Central Police Division Superintendent Mark Harris said the division has largely brought organised gang activity under control, but is now grappling with murders arising from personal disputes, many of which occur without warning and in communities not traditionally associated with violent crime. He said this shift has presented a more complex policing challenge because, unlike gang conflicts, interpersonal disputes are far less predictable.

Speaking on the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s (JCF) Force4Good podcast, Harris said the division recorded the largest reduction in murders across the Jamaica Constabulary Force last year and even went an entire month without a murder this February. However, he noted that while gang-related killings have declined significantly, police are increasingly being challenged by crimes rooted in personal and domestic disputes.