 Conversely, according to the 2013 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report, murder rates in Haiti (10.2 per 100,000) are far "below" the regional average (26 per 100,000); less than that of Jamaica (39.3 per 100,000) and nearly that of the Dominican Republic (22.1 per 100,000), making it among the safer countries in the region.In large part, this is due to the country's ability to fulfil a pledge by increasing its national police yearly by 50%, a four-year initiative that was started in 2012.In addition to the yearly recruits, the Haitian National Police (HNP) has been using innovative technologies to crack down on crime.