In Portland, crime has dropped by 15 percent, but …

While serious crime rates in the Portland community continue to decline steadily, aggravated assault cases continue to pose challenges to law enforcement.

Portland Deputy Police Chief Velonique Campbell provided an update to Prime Minister Andrew Holness during his visit to the community for the groundbreaking of the Boundbrook Urban Centre on Thursday.

“Overall, crime in the community has gone down. We are currently seeing a 15 percent decrease,” Campbell told Holness.

In response, the Prime Minister said: “Excellent.”

However, when it comes to serious physical assault, which includes interpersonal conflicts that escalate into violence, Campbell said 10 incidents have been recorded so far this year, compared to three last year.

“At the moment we only have some problems with one category of crime, namely grievous bodily harm,” she reported.

“I am also pleased to report, sir, that nine of these incidents (serious assault) have been solved… That represents a 90 percent clearance rate,” Campbell said.