Murder rate for children up in Jamaica

Statistics provided by the Office of the Children’s Registry (OCR) last year show a 50 per cent reduction in the number of children reported dead, moving from 14 in 2013, to seven in 2014.

But in the first three months of this year, that number has already more than doubled.

As of Friday, March 6, Jamaica was thrust into despair once again when another child became part of the chilling murder statistics.

Two-year-old Saskia Mullings
Two-year-old Saskia Mullings was shot and killed in St James, becoming the 16th child, who have died since the start of the year.

Former Children’s Advocate of Jamaica and now Convenor at the Hear the Children’s Cry Committee, Betty-Ann Blaine, told Loop News that the deaths are just a reminder of the growing problem the country is facing.

“What concerns us deeply …. the people who are murdering our children. Who are they?” she asked.

Blaine argued that not much information has been gathered to ascertain if Jamaicans have children-serial killers roaming the streets of the island.

Betty-Ann Blaine
“The bigger issue is that we live in a society where many don’t value our children and these persons believe they can harm [our children] and get away with it,” Blaine said.

Blaine made reference to the case of Ananda Dean, whose body was found after a near two-week search since she was abducted in September 2008. No one has been charged over the killing.

“Why aren’t we able to investigate these cases and bring some of these people to our court system? It’s not happening; I believe there is a role for parents, but the government has been absolutely negligent in dealing with child-deaths in Jamaica,” she reasoned.

Blaine further said the current spate of violent child-deaths is not surprising, but something must change.

“I suspect we could see a decrease in child-murders and child abuse, if everybody were to look out for a child, but we can’t be bystanders anymore,” she noted.

The Hear the Children’s Cry Committee is an advocacy group committed to the well-being and welfare of Jamaica’s children.

Loop News Service