Post Cabinet Report- Thursday, May 29, 2025
Senator the Hon. Dana Morris-Dixon
Welcome to a special edition of our Post Cabinet Press Briefing. Today is Thursday, May 29, 2025, and last week we did it on a Thursday, and this week we’re doing it on a Thursday again, but that’s not a trend, Wednesday’s our usual day. There are a lot of very important individuals in the room today for me to acknowledge.
There is one very special individual who is on his way, and I will acknowledge him, and we will announce him when he does come. And so, in the room with us we have the Honorable Dr. Horace Chang, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Security, Senator the Honorable Kamina Johnson-Smith, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, we have Senator Abka Fitz-Henley, our Parliamentary Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister, Ambassador Alison Stone-Roofe, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of National Security, Ms. Jennifer Griffith, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism, Dr. Kasan Troupe, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, Dr. Kevin Blake, Commissioner of Police, Brigadier Marklyn Lloyd, our Acting Chief of Defense Staff, Dr. Velma Ricketts Walker, the Commissioner of Customs, we also have Colonel Desmond Edwards, Director General of MOCA, Ms. Terri-Ann Thomas-Gayle, our Acting Chief Education Officer, Ambassador Sharon Miller, Chief Technical Director in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade. There are many members of the media here with us, Jamaicans at home and abroad, a wonderful Thursday afternoon greeting to all of you.
But as always, as we start our Post-Cabinet Press Briefing, we do a few good news stories and there’ll be a few today because I can’t go through the 10 pages that I have. So, the first one, as always, and every single Post-Cabinet Press Briefing and DPM and Commissioner of Police know this, every single press briefing, I note the decline in murders at the very start because it is such a big deal that every single press conference that we have, I note it. And murders are down, 43% is what I believe is the last number that we had. And again, we have to celebrate that. I spent my day in Central Kingston today and I was with some police officers and all of them were quoting their numbers. And they are very excited about what has happened. They spoke about the increased equipment that they’ve gotten, the support they feel and how committed they are to continuing to bring the numbers down. And so, this is not just accident, this is deliberate leadership. And so, I thank our Deputy Prime Minister. We thank the team of the JCF headed by Dr. Kevin Blake and all of those tireless police officers who are out there working to keep us safe.
The other thing I’ll note, it’s almost June 1 and the hurricane season is upon us, and we have to be prepared for it. And I’m very happy to note that next week, the Chairman of the National Disaster Risk Management Council, Dr. The Most Honorable Andrew Holness and our Prime Minister will convene a National Disaster Risk Management Council meeting and that will have all of the key stakeholders together from across government and also it will include some key partners in the private sector to look at readiness for the hurricane season. Our Minister of Local Government and Community Development, the Honourable Desmond McKenzie, has already indicated in his sectoral presentation yesterday that the island is in a state of readiness and we see those JPS trucks all over cutting down tree limbs from the wires. And so, we know there’s work happening and there is much more to be done, and you will be briefed after that council meeting next week.
Another thing I will highlight is $900 million being spent on improving farm roads and our Minister of Agriculture, the Honourable Floyd Green, made that announcement in his sectoral contribution on May 27 and that’s a big deal. Our farmers are extremely important and this investment in farm roads, it will be 60 farm roads that are slated for construction or rehabilitation in the 2025-26 fiscal year, and it is a big deal. So, $900 million will be spent, almost that much, on farm roads across Jamaica.
One last thing I will note is that this Saturday we will have the Prime Minister’s National Youth Award for Excellence, and it will happen here at Jamaica House and we will see our young people who are doing fantastic and tremendous things being awarded for their work. And there are a lot of new categories including the TVET category and we also have a special abilities category for those individuals who are young and doing great things in spite of their perceived disability. And so that’s another way that we are talking about our young people and encouraging them to be a part of the great developments that we see taking place across Jamaica.
Senator the Hon. Kamina Johnson-Smith
It is a good day for all of us here. It is a good day for Jamaica. And on behalf of the government of Jamaica, I’m very, very pleased to welcome the recent updates to the travel advisory published by the United States Department of State. As of Thursday, May 29, 2025, the US Department of State has upgraded its classification of Jamaica for the purposes of travel from level three to level two. A classification shared by many much larger and more developed countries than ours. There is as close as a DUMREP, Panama, and as far away as Spain, the UK, Germany, and others. They are all at level two. So we are in good company. This improvement is a timely acknowledgment of Jamaica’s continued progress in enhancing public safety, as well as the travel experience for visitors.
The improved level acknowledges even lower risk levels for visitors, because you would recall that we have shared previously, and Minister Bartlett would never forgive me if I did not remind, that Jamaica is rated as one of, if not the safest resort location in the entire Latin American Caribbean region, with a Gallup rating of 0.01%. This is something to be celebrated. So, as you know, these advisories, they are a US government tool for advising their citizens. They provide their own public guidance. And they are reviewed regularly. At level two, we understand that those reviews take place annually. So, this review will be with us for the next year. I really want to take this opportunity, or at this time, I wish to acknowledge or appreciation of the continued positive diplomatic engagement that we’ve been unable, sorry, to undertake with our US partners. And we remain committed to working through the challenges with them together. As you would be aware also, this administration has been working hard to make Jamaica safer for everyone.
We have tripled our investment in our security forces, focused on more recruitment and better equipment, better technology, better training, better intelligence, a deeper focus on strategy, as well as our focus on violence prevention and the softer side, the social side. So as all of Jamaica reaps these benefits, so too will our visitors. And so we’re pleased by and truly welcome this additional recognition of progress. I personally want to take this opportunity to commend Prime Minister Dr. The Most Honorable Andrew Holness, whose leadership has been more focused on national security than any other prime minister before. I want to commend Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Security, who has brought a level of drive and commitment to this sector again, which has delivered a multifaceted and successful approach. I also want to salute 1,000 times over Commissioner Blake, CDS Weems-Gorman, and their teams, the men and women of the JCF and the JDF, and the wider security and justice architecture, all of whom have been playing critical roles in advancing safety, stability, and public confidence.
The government of Jamaica remains engaged with our partners in Washington to ensure that future advisories are based on accurate data and are framed in balanced language. Jamaica continues to make significant strides in making our country safer for all citizens, I reiterate, and to offering a safer, more rewarding experience for the millions of travelers who choose Jamaica every year. I have another issue to raise, and this is the one on which Deputy Prime Minister will join me or will follow up after.
And I must say that DPM and I share a particular relationship because of our cooperation and partnership, the links and the interconnectedness between foreign affairs and the international partnerships that support our national security efforts. You would be aware, I understand, our special guest is joining us. Welcome, Prime Minister, Dr. The Most Honorable Andrew Holness, welcome, sir. I just commended you for your leadership, by the way, and indicated that you have given more focus to national security than any prime minister before, and we are certainly reaping the benefits of the same. So thank you for your leadership, sir. We recognize that yesterday there was a headline in a particular publication which generated significant public interest, stating that 4,000 Jamaicans were to be returned.
Allow me to be clear that 4,000 Jamaicans are not being returned now. For some time, it has been in the public domain that the U.S. authorities had close to 4,000 persons in their records with final orders for deportation against their names. It is now our understanding that approximately 2,500 have been confirmed for removal over a period of time, over a period of time, to be determined by logistics, their own legal processes, and other factors.
The return of Jamaican nationals is not a new development. It is not a new phenomenon. For decades, Jamaica has facilitated the repatriation of its citizens under established international arrangements. We receive our citizens when they are returned to us. Just as we expect and we do repatriate foreign nationals who commit serious crimes or breaches of our immigration laws, we respect the rights of other countries to so do. As immigration policies continue to evolve globally, the government remains committed to honoring our international obligations while safeguarding national security and public safety.
To support our returning citizens, recognizing that our, that returnees or deportees, depending on the term that you wish to use, involuntary return migrants, if you work at my ministry, the government has expanded the National Reintegration and Rehabilitation Strategy. On May 5th, cabinet approved the establishment of a national technical working group on voluntary and involuntary migrants, recognizing that not only is the grouping not homogenous in and of itself, we now have a subgrouping of those who are returning of their own motion, determining the circumstances in the U.S. to not be where they wish to remain and those who are being returned, those who have the decision made for them. This technical group is chaired by the Planning Institute of Jamaica.
Oversight is provided by the Ministries of National Security and Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade. And the technical group comprises several ministries, departments and agencies, as well as civil society partners. Its mandate is to coordinate reintegration services and to ensure that returnees are supported in a structured, sustainable manner. And this includes their reception, verification, health checks, security, vetting and access to social and legal support. Where necessary, and I say this to citizens who are particularly concerned about those who return with serious criminal antecedents, monitoring and detention measures are in place. They will be applied.
Again, stakeholders play key roles in helping us as partners in this reintegration and return process. And undoubtedly, there will be further updates on these matters. Jamaica remains committed and the government remains committed together with our partners to treating all returnees with dignity and fairness while upholding our national security interests. The public will continue to receive updates from the relevant ministries as developments unfold. I wish to now invite Deputy Prime Minister, Dr. The Honorable Horace Chang to continue this intervention.
Dr. the Hon. Horace Chang
As of Thursday (May 29), the homicide rate in Jamaica is 43%; the murder rate is 43.3 percent below what it was last year. That means we have reduction of some 210 murders compared to the period last year, that is January to May. This is the lowest rate of homicide in Ireland since 1991, some 35 years back. Major crimes are down by 19.3 percent, and I’ll indicate when we talk about it, I’ll say for the benefit of the wider public, my Minister of Tourism of course recognizes it regularly as all the Ministers have done, what is called a crime victimization level in Jamaica is one of the lowest in the region.
It’s less than 20 percent and that is what indicates random criminal activity. Home murder is part of organized criminal activity which this government set out very early on in prioritizing and taking steps to correct. The projected rate for this year if we continue as we will be 24 per 100,000 which will be the lowest since 1991.
I indicated a small number yesterday. One of my police officers was projecting the last fortnight. We have had some 30 weeks below 20 and getting below 10 per week and unfortunately, I’m from a constituency when 10 per weekend was a good number. The country is now looking at 10 per week on a regular basis.
The first quarter of 2025 had the lowest ever recorded since Jamaica Constabulary Force began keeping this aggregated data in 2001. Only 188 murders recorded in Q1 and if we continue Q2 could be lower. The second quarter is on track to break that record.
So far with two months completed, there are only 87 murders have been recorded with just one month remaining in the quarter, Q2 could end even at a lower rate than Q1. It should be noted that historically the last month of this quarter, this month in this quarter, May, has traditionally been the highest on a regular basis. In fact it gave the police force many hours of planning and thinking as to what was the cause of it because May just turned up every year over 100 murders. In fact last year it was 134. We are now at 42.
At 42 we will come in at below 50. I say that with confidence because sometimes they are talks by others that we should not celebrate or take credit for this activity. This government led by Prime Minister Andrew Holness decided the investment in security is a priority and we took huge numbers given the socio-economic state of the country/ In the face of COVID-19, and other activity we still found over 50 billion dollars to invest in security. In any democracy with our social demographic conditions, that money could have been directed into what you might call popular issues but we thought public safety, public order and the safety of Jamaicans, saving Jamaican lives, as a priority and we understood clearly and stated it very early. Public safety and public order is a foundation which we can build a strong healthy economy and a healthy society. We made the investment, and we are getting the results.
This Prime Minister sat down with his cabinet and the security personnel planned carefully and outlined a plan in Plan Secure Jamaica and I said over and over while I was being beaten upon by all manner of sources and all manner of experts that we wanted strong measures in the beginning to save lives. Within the process, invest in the security forces, the army, the police and MOCA and we indicated very early that we would take the police back from undermanned to establishment. They were below 11,000, and we took them to 14,000. We recruited 6,000 officers and trained them even during COVID. We acquired additional space and systematically decided how we’d get to establishment for the security force.
We set out to introduce to bring the resources not only human resources but in training and technology. I think a number of people at least got an insight into the planning of this government when the police force, I think two years back did the exhibition at the National Arena to demonstrate the use of technology in modern security operation and the country could see that this police force was being transformed. The transformation program was alive, active and well resourced.
We’re not complete but we’re at the tipping point and the police has demonstrated that and we have had the outcome we refer to today. 43.3 percent below last year is a remarkable achievement, and we have to extend the commendation to the entire leadership of the security forces but in particular to the Commissioner of Police
The police is the front line of law enforcement. The transformation is visible in all aspects of police work. You meet the police officer on the road, the uniform has changed, the transportation has changed, the communication has changed, the stations are a makeover. If you walk into one of our new police stations, you may not recognize it. We are making all of them modern police facilities. They are not quite all done but we set about and this one I like to repeat because when you get to the construction the public like to look at political pettiness.
We sent an engineer on the road to examine all 200 police facilities. A qualified engineer, a professional engineer who went and did a superficial early examination of all police facilities and classified them one, two, three. If it’s one, it needed minor repairs, coat of paint, some plumbing, etc. Two, major repairs and three, demolish and we have set about demolishing all those to be demolished. We have built I think we have completed now 18 police stations. We have two to be opened in the next fortnight and there are six under construction and six within the public investment appraisal PIAB, public investment assessment board which is important to show the returns and anyone who has seen the new ones will know that it’s hard to recognize the police station.
As I said before the old method of finding a building whether it was a bar, a shop, or a house and paint it blue and white and called it police station was irresponsible. Policing is a professional activity. We design a police station for police officers. If you’re leaving Kingston driving down to Negril for the weekend, take a look at Hopewell police station.
You will not see a big book you’ll see a young officer behind the computer screen taking notes and doing what is required and being very pleasant. Not saying we’re perfect but we are very good and much better than we were today. If you drive to Savana la Mar, you’ll see a building that is impressive in all aspects, and it will be a police division headquarters. We are doing the same in in in Spanish Town.
I asked them to demolish the station because when I went there the senior officer who was in charge of over 500 personnel because this is the Spanish Town division in one of the highest crime areas to get into his office he had to bend and creep into a corner behind the desk literally. I didn’t do much more of the tour. I asked the commissioner to examine how fast we could get that police station demolished. It is down and it’s not demolished but we are building a new station that the officers can feel comfortable.