Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness extended states of emergency in certain provinces around the island Wednesday, allowing police to ignore certain civil rights as the country attempts to curb violent crime, Reuters reports.
In mid-November, Holness declared a state of emergency for certain designated areas that allow police to search premises and arrest individuals suspected in gang activity without warrants. Police Commissioner Antony Anderson said that since the policies went into place, officials have seen a decline in murders.
In 2021, Jamaica–a nation of three million people–had 1,463 murders, of which more than 70% were gang related. In September 2022, the island nation was experiencing an average of five murders per day as gang violence exploded. However, Anderson said gun control measures and the states of emergency have led to a sharp drop in the number of violent crimes reported.