By Sugar Ray Thomas

The St. James Police Division has recorded 34 murders since the start of the year. 

This represents an increase of 11 when compared to the 23 reported for the same period last year. 

The disclosure was made by Commander of the Division, Senior Superintendent (SSP) Eron Samuels at the monthly meeting of the St. James Municipal Corporation today. 

Providing a breakdown of the murder figures, he said 12 were as a result of inter-personal conflicts, 11 gang related, 9 criminal related while 2 are still undetermined.

SSP Samuels noted that the police are employing various strategies to assist persons to defuse their conflicts without using violence. 

He said the police are monitoring various hot-spot areas in the parish including retirement, where ongoing conflicts over scrap metal have led to murders. 

Police fatally shot four men at the Retirement Dump yesterday during an operation in response to the conflicts. 

Meanwhile, SSP Samuels said the police are working to ensure murders remain below last year’s figure.