UN: Criminal violence taking rising toll in Caribbean countries

UN: Criminal violence taking rising toll in Caribbean countries

2012-02-09 08:04:01 GMT+7 (ICT)

NEW YORK (BNO NEWS) -- Gang-related killings have increased substantially across the Caribbean over more than a decade, threatening economies and livelihoods in the region's countries, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) said in a new report on Wednesday.

The Caribbean Human Development Report said that Latin America and the Caribbean, home to 8.5 percent of the world population, accounted for 27 percent of the world's homicides. The report, launched in Port of Spain, reflects a large-scale survey among 11,555 citizens in Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.

According to the report, Jamaica has the highest homicide rate in the Caribbean and the third-highest murder rate worldwide in recent years, with about 60 murders per 100,000 inhabitants. Only El Salvador and Honduras have higher rates, with 66 and 82.1 murders respectively per 100,000 people.

In Trinidad and Tobago, murder rates increased five-fold over a decade to more than 40 per 100,000 in 2008, and then declined to 36 in 2010. The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) estimates that the cost of gang-related crime is between 2.8 percent and 4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the region.

"This report stresses the need to rethink our approaches to tackling crime and violence and providing security on the ground," said UNDP Administrator Helen Clark at the report's launch. "We need to follow approaches that are centered on citizen security and address the causes of this recent increase in violent crime, including social, economic, and political exclusion."

The report added that Caribbean nations can reverse the trend by increasing public institutions to tackle crime and violence. It also urged governments to provide education and job opportunities for the marginalized urban poor.

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