Derrick Smith, the minister of national security, says he is committed to the development and maintenance of social intervention programmes, in certain inner-city communities, as part of efforts to reduce the current crime rate.

Smith was speaking during the Peace Management Initiative's (PMI) sixth anniversary luncheon, held Friday at the Hilton Kingston hotel in New Kingston.

"We as an administration intend to establish a coordinating body to ensure that all these interventions, both locally and overseas, are properly managed," he said.

The minister said that, though current initiatives - particularly the joint task force, which sees the Jamaica Defence Force working together with the Jamaica Constabulary Force - has been seeing some results, there is a need for increasing such social intervention programmes like the PMI.

"The aim is not just to get the guns off the streets, but to get these young girls and young boys lose the urge to own a gun," said Smith.

He said he would be willing to give his full support to the PMI as, over the years, it has successfully saved many lives.