Kingston (Jamaica), 21 April 2021 — The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) through the Centre of Excellence in Statistical Information on Government, Crime, Victimization and Justice (CoE), participated in the presentation of results of the Jamaica National Crime Victimization Survey (JNCVS) 2019, carried out by the Ministry of National Security (MNS) and the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN).
The survey measures victimization and the safety perception of the population aged 16 and over in the Caribbean nation. The results served to complement existing administrative records, by estimating the hidden figure of crime among other relevant indicators that support evidence-based policy making on crime prevention and safety.
Jamaica is the second country in the Caribbean to measure victimization following UN standards, such as the International Classification of Crime for Statistical Purposes (ICCS), the Manual on Victimization Surveys and the Latin American and the Caribbean Crime Victimization Survey Initiative (LACSI).
During the presentation, Mr. Courtney Williams, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of National Security pointed out that the national survey will be “a vital instrument to inform policy making, planning and evaluation, as well as to help strategic thinking to fight crime”.
Ms. Carol Coy, Director General of STATIN stressed that “there is a critical demand for high-quality statistics on crime and criminal justice to design and implement anti-crime programmes and assess the social impact of public policies”.
Mr. Enrico Bisogno, Chief of UNODC Data Development and Dissemination Unit in Vienna, was also present at the event. He highlighted that "the Jamaica National Crime Victimization Survey is a successful experience since it measures a wide range of crimes, has a very broad perspective to evaluate citizens' experiences and allows national authorities to follow the country's progress towards the objectives of Agenda 2030".
The Jamaica National Crime Victimization Survey (JNCVS) 2019 generates valuable information for understanding crime phenomena and for monitoring the progress of 4 United Nations Agenda 2030 indicators (16.1.3, 16.1.4, 16.3.1, 16.5.1) contributing to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions.
In the framework of the road map to improve the quality and availability of crime statistics at the national and international levels, the Centre of Excellence continues to strengthen the statistical capacities of countries in the Latin American and Caribbean region.
