Domestic violence and interpersonal disputes are emerging as a growing policing challenge across several divisions, with the St. Andrew Central Police now identifying them as among their most pressing concerns.
The assessment mirrors trends in divisions such as St. Ann and Clarendon, where deadly domestic disputes have featured prominently in recent months.
In the latest reported incident, 24-year-old Imani Richards was stabbed to death last Friday in Standpipe, St. Andrew, by a woman he was previously involved in a relationship with.
Reports indicate there was a verbal altercation when the woman used a knife to stab Richards in the chest. He was pronounced dead at hospital.
The woman is now in custody and is expected to be charged soon.
Commanding Officer for the St. Andrew Central Division, Superintendent Mark Harris, said while murder figures remain controlled, interpersonal disputes are presenting a distinctive challenge requiring serious policing effort.
“I want to tell you on this platform…last year I had gang issues; this year we don’t have a gang issue, we have criminals committing the crimes. But it is not associated with gangs like 2024 and part of 2025 when I just took command. And believe it or not, gang conflict is easier to police than the interpersonal and the domestic issues because we know where the gangs are, and know where they operate and who they are in conflict with and we put police right there, hot spot policing,” noted the superintendent.
He said that some of these cases are also occurring in usually peaceful areas.
“Even in Jack’s Hill, we’re having murders; that is not normally a place where we have murders – Gordon Town Road, Molynes Road – and these are interpersonal rather than gang conflict. So we have managed to control the gangs, but the interpersonal and domestic is now our major concern, and we are trying to get that [under control],” he admitted.
Superintendent Harris was speaking on the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s Force for Good Podcast on Sunday.