Fewer suicides but JCF still worried

While acknowledging that there is a 17 per cent decline in the number of suicides when compared to the corresponding period in 2024, the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) is still troubled by the figures.

From January to September this year, the island has recorded 44 suicides, nine fewer than in the corresponding period in 2024. However, in the publication Suicide in Jamaica: Comparative Patterns 2024-2025 - which was released by the Constabulary Communications Network on Tuesday - the January to June period of 2025 consistently registered fewer cases than in 2024.

This was followed by a sharp reversal in July and August 2025, where suicides spiked to eight and six cases respectively, outstripping the corresponding months in 2024. The JCF said the mid-year surge suggests the presence of stressors that may be seasonal, including school transitions, or episodic including community-level conflicts. The findings were compiled by the JCF's Statistics and Information Management Unit. So far, across the 19 police divisions, in 2025, St Catherine North has seen four cases in July alone.