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Jamaica calls on army to stem soaring murder rate
KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) -- Jamaican soldiers will join police on patrols on the Caribbean island in a new strategy to fight rising violence, the prime minister said.
Jamaica's Prime Minister Bruce Golding, shown in a file photo, has mobilized soldiers to control violence.
Nearly 60 homicides over the last week have pushed the number of victims this year beyond 1,430, police spokesman Karl Angell said.
Most of the violence has been linked to gangs in the capital, Kingston, and the rural parishes of St. Catherine, Clarendon and St. James.
"We are going to use every resource to deal with this monster," Prime Minister Bruce Golding told a news conference late Wednesday.
Soldiers have been mobilized in the past to help quell violence on a temporary basis, but Golding said he would assign troops to crime patrols as a long-term strategy.
Jamaica, a country that is slightly smaller than Connecticut, had a population of 2,780,132 in July, 2007, according to the C.I.A.'s World Factbook.
- Story Highlights
- Soldiers to patrol with police, the prime minister said
- Nearly 60 homicides over the last week, more than 1,430 this year
- Most homicides linked to gangs in the capital of Kingston
- Next Article in World ยป
KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) -- Jamaican soldiers will join police on patrols on the Caribbean island in a new strategy to fight rising violence, the prime minister said.
Jamaica's Prime Minister Bruce Golding, shown in a file photo, has mobilized soldiers to control violence. Nearly 60 homicides over the last week have pushed the number of victims this year beyond 1,430, police spokesman Karl Angell said.
Most of the violence has been linked to gangs in the capital, Kingston, and the rural parishes of St. Catherine, Clarendon and St. James.
"We are going to use every resource to deal with this monster," Prime Minister Bruce Golding told a news conference late Wednesday.
Soldiers have been mobilized in the past to help quell violence on a temporary basis, but Golding said he would assign troops to crime patrols as a long-term strategy.
Jamaica, a country that is slightly smaller than Connecticut, had a population of 2,780,132 in July, 2007, according to the C.I.A.'s World Factbook.