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| Jamaica poor 'at mercy of gangs' | Jamaica poor 'at mercy of gangs' |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Jamaica's poor have been abandoned by the government and left to the mercy of violent criminal gangs, Amnesty International says in a new report. | Jamaica's poor have been abandoned by the government and left to the mercy of violent criminal gangs, Amnesty International says in a new report. |
| The human rights group said inner-city Jamaicans were being "held hostage" in the battle between gangs and the state. | The human rights group said inner-city Jamaicans were being "held hostage" in the battle between gangs and the state. |
| It said Jamaican authorities had stigmatised and "wilfully neglected" inner-city communities. | |
| Jamaica has one of the region's highest murder rates, with 1,500 homicides in 2007 and 272 police killings. | Jamaica has one of the region's highest murder rates, with 1,500 homicides in 2007 and 272 police killings. |
| "Criminal gangs... keep thousands of people living in constant fear," Amnesty's Fernanda Doz Costa said. | "Criminal gangs... keep thousands of people living in constant fear," Amnesty's Fernanda Doz Costa said. |
| "Entire populations are shut down by barricades and unable to leave their homes after 5pm. Children don't go out to school and adults don't go to work because transport is suspended." | "Entire populations are shut down by barricades and unable to leave their homes after 5pm. Children don't go out to school and adults don't go to work because transport is suspended." |
| More murders | |
| The human rights group urged Jamaican authorities to address the underlying causes of what it said was a "human rights crisis". | The human rights group urged Jamaican authorities to address the underlying causes of what it said was a "human rights crisis". |
| It said the government should act to reduce murder rates, introduce human-rights based policing and reform the judicial system. | It said the government should act to reduce murder rates, introduce human-rights based policing and reform the judicial system. |
| Jamaica's Police Commissioner Hardley Lewin acknowledged on Tuesday that the number of major crimes had increased, according to the Caribbean Media Corporation. | |
| He said murders had gone up 9% from a month earlier and there had also been a 25% increase in the number of robberies. | |
| A total of 300 people have been killed on the island since the beginning of the year. |