Many Caribbean Islands have among the highest murder rates in the world. Countries such as Jamaica, Saint Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and Turks and Caicos Islands all have murder rates in 2023 that are above 40 murders per 100,000 people. The problem is acknowledged by Caribbean leaders.
It isn’t just that these countries have high murder rates, but that they have very recently seen huge increases, with five countries seeing over 50 percent increases in murder rates in just four years. Three countries have seen over 150 percent increase in murder rates.
It raises interesting questions about why these changes have occurred. Many of these countries, such as Turks and Caicos, have very strict gun control laws.
