Jamaica's investment in national security extends well beyond the figures attached to the annual budget. Over the last decade, the Ministry of National Security and Peace (MNSP) has overseen investments of more than $100 billion in infrastructure, technology, equipment, systems and programmes intended to strengthen the country's security architecture.

For the Ministry, however, the value of these investments ultimately depends on what they deliver.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Security and Peace, the Hon. Dr. Horace Chang, says the Citizen Security Business Group will be called upon to take a broader role in addressing public order issues as the Government continues efforts to strengthen security and maintain peace across communities.

When the applause faded and the final notes of the Ministry of National Security and Peace LIV GUD Jingle Competition had been performed, the experience was far from over for the young men whose talent had earned them a place among the competition's winners. Instead, the recognition opened a new door.

As previously committed at a Post Cabinet Press Briefing, the Ministry of National Security and Peace and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade are updating the public on matters related to the MOU on Third Country Nationals signed earlier this year between the Governments of Jamaica and the United States of America. After internal consultations and thoughtful negotiations, both governments have finalised operating procedures related to the MOU in order to settle the guardrails and parameters underpinning the agreement.

Jamaica has opened the Caribbean's first Correctional Academy, a major regional milestone in the continued transformation of the nation's security architecture and the advancement of correctional training, standards and services across the Caribbean.

Located at 12 Worthington Terrace with headquarters at 153 East Street, the newly opened Academy is equipped to strengthen the corrections system regionally through standardised education, leadership development, research and regional collaboration.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Security and Peace, the Hon. Dr. Horace Chang, is calling for deeper cooperation among security stakeholders in Jamaica and the region, to strengthen the country's ability to respond to terrorism and transnational organised crime.

The Security Minister made the call at the 2026 Biennial Counter-Terrorism Forum Review Meeting, on Wednesday (September 9), at the Jamaica Defence Force Headquarters, Up Park Camp, under the theme: "From Coordination to Cooperation: Strengthening Cooperation for Collective Security."

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Security and Peace, Hon. Dr. Horace Chang, is expressing deep concern over a number of serious incidents of violence reported since the start of September, including violence against children and young people, as well as violence perpetrated by young people.

The Minister's concern follows the fatal stabbing of a 13-year-old girl in Flanker, St. James, on Thursday, September 3, during an altercation involving other teenage females.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Security and Peace, Hon. Dr. Horace Chang, has expressed concern about the shooting and injury of three members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) during an armed confrontation with highly dangerous criminals in the Mount Salem Zone of Special Operations (ZOSO) in St. James early this morning (September 9).

The three officers, Corporal Ricardo Smellie, Constable Jaburer Martinez and Constable Chevanese Griffiths, were injured during the encounter and have been taken to hospital, where they are receiving medical treatment.

The Government of Jamaica firmly believes that corrections is not the final stage of the justice process, but a central component of national security.

This is the conviction of the Minister of State in the Ministry of National Security and Peace, the Hon. Juliet Cuthbert-Flynn, who officially opened the 14th Annual Conference of the Association of Caribbean Heads of Corrections and Prison Services (ACHCPS), on Monday, September 7, at the AC Hotel in Kingston.

Jamaica recorded 37 murders in August 2026, making it one of the lowest monthly murder totals recorded in the country's recent history and providing further evidence of the continued downward trend in serious crime.

The August figure represents a significant development in ongoing efforts to reduce murders and create safer communities, with August 2026 recording 35% fewer murders than last year, when the figure was 57.