CRIME IN JAMAICA

                                                        

No matter which country travelers visit, there is always the risk that travellers will be robbed, women will be raped and both men and women will be murdered.

My wife and I have travelled in 30 countries in Europe, Africa, South America, Central America, Mexico, Canada, the United States, Hawaii, and seven countries in the Far East and in one instance only, my wife had her camera grabbed out of her handbag when we were in France. She made the mistake of leaving her handbag open while we walked in a subway entrance.

We are generally very careful during our travels by taking proper precautions wherever we go.  Don't wear clothes that will cause harassment, do without excess jewelry, be polite to everyone,  As anywhere else in the world, if you apply common sense and take the same precautions as you take at home then you can enjoy a safe holiday.

I remember back in 1969 when I visited a friend in Belize what was then called British Honduras.  There was an area in Belize City where travellers were advised not to ever visit that area because of the criminality in that part of the city.  Even the police didn’t go into that area unless they were in a large group.

I have never visited Jamaica for the following reasons. Aside from robberies assaults and rapes, Jamaica has had one of the highest murder rates in the world for many years.

 The Canadian government has issued a travel advisory telling visitors to exercise extreme caution when visiting the island and stay on campus at the resorts. If you are staying at a resort in an affected area, restrict your movements beyond resort security perimeters. If you are in the affected area, be extremely vigilant and follow the instructions of local authorities.

Recently, a Toronto couple were murdered in Jamaica and about that same time, a couple and their five-year-old daughter were also murdered in Jamaica.

Retired Winnipeg couple Melbourne and Etta Flake were found murdered in their vacation home in Jamaica in early this month Their hands and feet were bound and cops say it was a robbery gone awry.

Kiron Spence was the first in Jamaica’s blood-soaked St. James Parish to make the grim journey to the morgue this month. He was just 21 years old.  The sight of his mutilated body left even veteran detectives mortified. His face was skinned and his throat slashed. St. James, which includes fabled tourist destination Montego Bay has seen unprecedented bloodshed.

When Jamaica gained independence in 1962, the murder rate was 3.9 per 100,000 inhabitants, one of the lowest in the world. In 2005, Jamaica had 1,674 murders for a murder rate of 58 per 100,000 people. That year, Jamaica had the highest murder rate in the world. In November 2008, the Jamaican Parliament voted to retain the death penalty, which is performed by hanging. Later that year,  violent rivalries among Jamaica’s lottery scam rings have helped to drive the Caribbean island’s homicide rate to the highest level in five years, according to the police in that island.

Between 2002 and 2016, a total of 19,757 Jamaicans died at the hands of other Jamaicans which is an average of 1,317 murders per year and at a rate of 47 murders per 100,000 of that island’s population.

Over the past thirty years, there has been a general increase in rates of serious violent crime in Jamaica, particularly within but not exclusively the Kingston Metropolitan Area (which includes Kingston, St. Andrew and urban St. Catherine), as well as, the country’s second city Montego Bay has experienced increases in crime. In the Jamaican tourist jewel, Montego Bay, with a population of just 200,000, there were 335 homicides last year. In

 battered Montego Bay, military forces have been deployed to the area in an attempt to stabilize the situation.

There were 1,682 reported murders in 2009 and 1,428 in 2010. Since 2011 the murder rate has continued to fall following the downward trend started in 2010, with increases in police patrols, curfews, and more effective anti-gang activities. In 2012, the Ministry of National Security reported a 30 percent decrease in murders. Many of the murders in Jamaica are connected to organized crime in the country's urban centers, and most of this organized crime involves the illegal drug trade. Of course, you can be shot dead by a stray bullet aimed for another criminal in the drug trade.             

A zero tolerance to crime will be the order of the day from the police in the St. James area where Montego Bay is located. According to police, 335 murders in the St. James parish have occurred in 2017, 67 more than occurred in 2016. The area and its neighbors have experienced an increase in killings by gang members and lottery scams.

Police Commissioner George Quallo said 335 murders were recorded in St. James last year, almost twice as many as in any other parish on the island.

Jamaica's conviction rates for the crime of murder is well under 10 per cent, which means that nine out of 10 people charged by the police for these crimes walk away free to commit more murders.

Over a period of many years, the violence and crime in Jamaica has occupied a prominent position of concern in the foreign, and even the local press. 

British and Canadian authorities are warning their nationals visiting Jamaica's Montego Bay to limit their movements following a state of emergency over violence and shootings in that tourist hotspot. The move came days after the United States upgraded its travel advisory to its citizens. Canada and Great Britain issued warnings following the declaration of emergency.

 Jamaica has declared a state of emergency in the island’s second city Montego Bay, where authorities are battling to stem a wave of killings.

Tourists have been urged to remain in their resorts following the declaration by Prime Minister Andrew Holness resulting in the deployment of thousands of members of the military and police in the city of 200,000, home to some of the biggest and most luxurious resorts on the island.

Due to negative press reports in the past, many people are very skeptical about their safety in Jamaica. Like anywhere in the world, it is really a case of putting this question into perspective. Since this is such a small island, with few events of international importance, the local newspapers highlight incidents, many of which would not even be mentioned in the papers of major cities. Many of the incidents are internal family episodes and many more are between fractions in the inner city areas. Just as any other city in the world has its less reputable and dangerous areas, the cities and towns also have areas where we would not recommend you venture. This does not however imply that you cannot go to these cities and towns at all or that the whole island is crime ridden.

The majority of violent crime is restricted to certain localities such as in Kingston, and lately to a lesser extent in Spanish town and  Montego Bay That does not mean you have to avoid these areas, just seek out local knowledge as to the parts to avoid. Unless you want to witness the grinding poverty of those areas, which hold no attraction for you anyway so I advise you to stay away from them.

While killings increased last year, other crimes, such as rape, aggravated assault, robberies and larcenies, decreased. That doesn’t mean that you are no longer at risk if you travel to Jamaica.

The country's serious economic problems have exacerbated social tensions. These include high unemployment, and a large public debt burden, and a consistently stagnant economic growth rate. These people living in these crime-ridden areas need money and some of them will rob you to get it.

Corruption, the political parties' support of gangs, and the increase in drug trafficking over the past three or four decades, are undoubtedly the root cause of the increase in violence and crime in Jamaica.

The Jamaica Constabulary Force commands a significant portion of the annual allocations to the National Security Ministry ($57 billion allocated this year), yet year after year criminal activities have only succeeded in mushrooming

Crime throughout Jamaica is a result of several factors such as poverty, retribution, drugs, gangs and politics. There is no evidence to indicate criminals and gang-related activities are specifically targeting U.S. citizens. They are targeting all kinds of visitors. Jamaican Foreign Service Nationals at Embassy Kingston are victims of crime far more frequently than their American employee colleagues, a fact attributable to the differing demographics between upscale expatriate neighborhoods and the rest of Kingston in general.

Organized crime and other criminal elements are prevalent and extremely active. Most criminal activity is gang-related. The police are only able to resolve (make arrests) in 45 percent of homicides annually, and they only convict perpetrators in seven percent of the homicide cases. This leads both the public and police to doubt the effectiveness of the criminal justice system leading to vigilantism, which only exacerbates the cycle of violence.

Based on their past experiences, most civilians fear that at best, the authorities cannot protect them from organized criminal elements, and at worst, are colluding with criminals, leading citizens to avoid giving evidence or witness testimonies.
Some of the major tourist areas continue to be sites for pickpocketing and petty theft. In several cases, armed robberies turned violent when the victims resisted handing over valuables.  Several have even been killed.

Jamaica suffers from violent crimes, and these occurrences can impact international visitors. Most criminal activity is “Jamaican on Jamaican” violence, often involving organized criminal elements and gangs. In 2014, there were five U.S. citizens murdered; 36 reports of robbery; three reports of rape and/or sexual assault; 14 reports aggravated assaults; five reports kidnapping (attempted kidnappings); 10 reports of domestic violence; nine report of child abuse; and seven other crimes, mostly threatening phone calls and those related to lottery scams. These numbers are not all inclusive, as many crimes, including rape and/or sexual assaults, remain unreported for numerous reasons, including fear of retribution. Also a female traveler who is raped, doesn’t want to return to Jamaica for a trial so the rapist gets  his case against him dismissed.

An historic concern that appears to have diminished in recent years is the incidence of sexual assault against guests by hotel employees at resort hotels on the north coast and the need for forceful investigation and follow-up by the hotels and by police and other security officials. 

If you rent a house for a week or so in Jamaica, you have to be aware that home break-ins occur in Kingston, even in the gated and affluent neighborhoods. Burglary is a crime of opportunity. Some past incidents have shown that when occupants neglected to use one or more of the security features provided, it afforded criminals successful opportunities to gain entry into their residences. A burglar will select a target because it offers the best opportunity to carry out the crime undetected and with the fewest number of obstacles. A home that presents itself as unoccupied and insecure is far more likely to be targeted than one properly secured. Most burglars want to spend the least amount of time possible trying to gain access to your residence. Criminals want to get in, steal valuable portable items, and get out undetected. Burglars can commit rape, robbery, and assault if they are surprised by someone coming home or entering a home that is occupied. You might even be murdered if the criminal thinks that you will testify against you.

Skimming is a hi-tech method by which thieves capture your personal or account information from your credit card, ATM card, driver’s license, or even your passport. That is why you should keep your cards and passport protected with a certain shield that prevents the thieves getting access to your cards while they are still in your pocket or purse. Because of this electronic kind of thefts, those thieves don’t need to physically pick your pockets. Of course, this kind of crime is committed everywhere in the world.

If you want to rent a car, consider that in 2014, Jamaica saw an increase in fatal vehicular crashes. There were 330 overall fatalities that year. Driving is on the left-hand side of the road. The lack of pedestrian crosswalks requires special vigilance for all pedestrians who may actually cross in the middle of a street.

Travel with a friend when possible because a person alone is more vulnerable to being a victim. Keep doors to your room or rental home locked and windows up. Do not leave mail and other items that list your address lying about.

Never, ever swim alone at a beach if there is no-one else around. Women can be raped unseen by anyone who will also be on the beach. If you are sunbathing on the beach, move in close to families because it is unlikely a rapist will rape a woman who is sunbathing next to a family. Even a family alone on a beach is at risk.

Protests and demonstrations can be unpredictable in time, place, and intensity. Although protests and demonstrations are infrequent in Kingston, they do occur. Even protests and demonstrations intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and escalate into violence. There is no guarantee that a protest will not harm an innocent bystander. Activities observed in past protests include, but are not limited to, using tear gas, rubber bullets, in which you could be gassed or even shot by real stray bullets or even trampled on by protesters running away. You might even be arrested and charged with being a protester on the very day you are to get on the plane taking you home.

They have issued a temporary curfew on businesses and recreational areas until further notice. The state of emergency will allow the authorities to search areas without warrants.  Parts of St. Catherine parish are also included in the curfew, located just west of the capital of Kingston.

There has however, been a vast reduction in violence against LGBT individuals in Jamaica. The U.S. Department of State reported that brutality with homosexuals, mainly by private citizens, was widespread in 2008. Homosexuality per se is not illegal in Jamaica; however the  Offenses Against the Person Act     criminalizes buggery (anal sex) as well as "acts of gross indecency" between men. Many Jamaicans are hostile toward LGBT and intersex people, and several mob attacks against gay people have been reported. 

My advice to visitors who really want to travel around the island and experience the real Jamaica is to get advice from local Jamaicans as to where not to go before you set off on exploring Jamaica. Just be sensible as you would be when you are back home.

However, my other advice is to skip the trip to Jamaica since there are far safer places in the world to visit than Jamaica. I for one wouldn’t even take a cruise ship if one of its stops was in Jamaica.   I would be afraid to step ashore.

There are more than 60 countries the Canadian government currently warns travelers to “exercise a high degree of caution,” including other Caribbean nations such as the Bahamas, the British Virgin Islands, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin, Trinidad and Tobago, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.