An Examination of Major Crimes Committed by People aged1 to 34 years in Jamaica
Abstract
Introduction: Since the 1970s and 1990s, scholars have used social exclusion, social marginalization, and social segregation to examine the acts of violence committed by people, particularly young people. Crime and violence appear to be a staple in the Jamaican diet, a phenomenon that lingers on from slavery.
Objective: This study seeks to evaluate major crimes in Jamaica from the perspective of those aged 1 to 34 years.
Methods and materials: The current study employs time series data from 2010 to 2022. The research team obtained data on violent/major crimes. The data were obtained from the statistical department of the JCF. The data were stored, retrieved, and analyzed using the Statistical Packages for the Social Sciences for Windows, Version 27.0.
Findings: Over the 7 years (2015 to 2021), 23,465 major crimes were committed in Jamaica by those less than 35 years old. Nineteen and forty-two hundredth per cent of the major crimes were committed in 2015, which has been falling since then. Less than 4 per cent of the major crimes committed in Jamaica by those aged less than 35 years were done in 2021. Furthermore, of the total major crimes, 6.20% of them were aggravated assaults, 11.80% were break-ins, 1.97% were larceny, 18.78% were murders, 13.22% were raped, 24.11% were robberies, 23.92% were shootings. Almost seventeen per cent (16.74%) of the major crimes were done by those aged 1-17 years and 83.26% by those aged 18-34 years old. However, 65.6% of the rapes were committed by those less than 18 years, 5.97% of the murders and 5.67% of the break-ins (Table 9). In 2021, 13.73% of major crimes committed by those 1-34 years old were done by 1-17 years old, which was the least per cent of crimes committed by that aged cohort. During the studied period (2015-2021), 2019 marks the year in which most of the crimes were committed by those aged 1-17 years old (18.04%, n=640).
Conclusion: The findings suggest that poverty alone cannot account for the high levels of crime and violence in Jamaica. To address this issue, policies should be designed around social equality, all-inclusion, and economic equity. Such measures would enable a more comprehensive and effective solution to the crime problem in Jamaica.
