Assessing the cost-effectiveness of the Peace Management Initiative as an intervention to reduce the homicide rate in a community in Kingston, Jamaica

Objectives Communities throughout the world are investigating various approaches to reduce violence, especially gun violence. The objective of this study is to determine the cost-effectiveness of the Peace Management Initiative as an intervention to reduce the homicide rate in volatile community in Kingston, Jamaica. Methods A preliminary longitudinal study tracked the homicide rate in a selected volatile community in Kingston, Jamaica, over the 5-year period of PMI intervention in this community. The changes in the incidence of homicides were costed according to direct medical costs and productivity losses assuming that, without intervention, the number of homicides per year would have remained at the 2005 level. This was used to estimate the cost-effectiveness of the intervention. Results The Peace Management Initiative approach reduced homicides by 96.9% over the 5-year intervention period. The cost/benefit ratio for the intervention has been estimated to be JMD $12.38 saved per dollar spent on intervention. Conclusions The Peace Management Initiative approach was seen to significantly reduce the murder rate over the 5-year intervention period and provides a promising cost-effective approach for violence prevention.