By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Senior Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

NATIONAL Security Minister Marvin Dames said fewer COVID-19 restrictions are likely a factor – but not a significant one – in the uptick in murders this year.

There have been multiple killings in just the past week, including two on Thursday and another on Friday night. Compared with last year, murders and armed robberies have increased by more than 50 and 40 percent.

In January, Police Commissioner Paul Rolle credited last year’s 16 percent reduction in murder to the efforts of law enforcement, not the significant lockdowns and restrictions on movement implemented to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

“Our most notable highlight for 2020 was the overall reduction in crime,” Commissioner Rolle said.

“The men and women of the force performed at an exceptional level and were able to accomplish this feat in a number of ways. They are to be commended.”

Responding to critics who attributed the major crime reduction to COVID-19 restrictions, he said: “I could answer that with one word: nonsense.”

Yesterday, Mr Dames said studies will have to be done to determine how big an impact COVID-19 restrictions had on crime.

“Around the world you’ve had points where you had tightening of the restrictions, but with shootings, global trends were up significantly last year,” he said.

“We witnessed a decrease when many countries were doing the same things.

“Curfew or not, whether the curfew had an impact, yeah I would say it did, but I don’t think the impact was such that you know it would have significantly impacted (murder rates). Studies will come to point that out but we were kind of looking at trends around the world, especially the United States and you know, last year the trends were up, shootings were up, homicides were up in other countries while we saw an increase.

“Obviously the lockdown would’ve had some impact on it, I won’t dispute that, but I think too it was certainly as a result of the work of law enforcement. That contributed to some of it too.”

Mr Dames declined to connect the current uptick in violent crime to a greater return to normalcy.

“I think it has to do with us as a people,” he said.

“Restrictions have an impact to some degree, but at the end of the day it’s all about our ability to communicate with one another and our ability to avoid conflicts and restrictions or not, you know they will have an impact, but how much we’ll have to see.”