More than 990 murders have been recorded in the country since the start of the year.

According to the latest police data, 995 homicides were recorded up to Saturday November 16, this is 249 fewer than the 1,244 cases recorded in the same period last year.

St. James recorded the highest number of murders, with 116 followed by St. Andrew South with 99.

Portland recorded the lowest with 9.

Meanwhile, rape and robbery incidents also decreased.

Cases of rape declined by 114, while robberies went down by 136.

However, break-ins went up by 2.