Even in the face of several appeals and campaigns from children's advocacy groups, the number of children being killed is on the increase.
Up to March 30, 2008, 16 children had been killed. This represents an increase from the corresponding period last year, when 12 children were murdered. Though this figure represents a decrease from 23 in the same period in 2006, things are not looking good this year.
These figures represent the number of children killed in serious crimes. In most cases, stabbings or shootings.
Stabbing deaths
A very visible increase in the number of stabbing deaths in the school system may be one possible reason for the high number so far. Among the most recent victims are 16-year-old Omar Sushane from Bellefield High, and 16-year-old Tivan Sewell, a grade-10 student of the Brown's Town High School, who were both stabbed to death during altercations with other teens.
The body of a 13-year-old boy was also found stuffed in a suitcase on March 5 in the community of Norwood in St James and the controversial killing of a 10-month-old baby, allegedly by the police, was another child murder that made headlines.
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