Jamaica comes in at #5 in new murder hotspot study

Jamaica comes in at number 5 on the Homicide Monitor Map by the Igarape Institute of Brazil which reveals the global distribution of homicidal violence.

Latin America and the Caribbean dominate the top 10 spots on the state-of-the art interactive map, with three Caribbean countries, namely Anguilla, US Virgin Islands and Jamaica comprising the Caribbean contingent.

On Jamaica, the report notes, “In Jamaica, the government is trying to drive down the rate by using the threat of the death penalty, as well as police patrols, curfews and actions to break up and control gangs.”

The Homicide Monitor Map’s data was compiled from publicly reported killing reports from 219 countries from the new century to the latest available year.

Surprisingly, the US Virgin Islands comes up as the third most dangerous place in the world for murder with a rate of 52.6 per 100,000 persons.

Half of the victims of the Brazilian study showed they were aged between 15 and 29 with 92 per cent being male.

More than 75 per cent were killed by guns.

Honduras has the highest murder rate in the world, with 7,172 killings in 2012 – that’s 85.5 per 100,000 people.

The top 10 countries for murder, according to the new study, are:

1. Honduras
2. Venezuela
3.US Virgin Islands
4. Belize
5. Jamaica
6. El Salvador
7. Anguilla
8. Guatemala
9. Swaziland
10. Columbia

Loop News Service