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20th
Feburary 2010
Nipping
crime in the bud!
 In
an investigative report in The Washington Post
of Sunday, March 1, 2009, Investigative journalist,
John Briley, reported on the scourge of CRIME
affecting foreign visitors to various Caribbean
tourism destinations, including Saint Lucia.
John noted as follows : “The Caribbean,
renowned for beaches, sun, rum and relaxation,
is facing a rising tide of crime that may further
dampen a tourism industry already reeling from
the global economic morass. For local officials,
the headlines sting like a hurricane’s
lashing rain: Experts are quick to point out
that most crime in the Caribbean, especially
violent crime, does not target or involve tourists.
As State Department spokeswoman Laura Tischler
says, despite some areas of concern, “Millions
of people travel to Caribbean destinations safely
and have a good time every year.”
Anthony Harriott, a professor of political sociology
and director of the Institute of Criminal Justice
and Security at the University of the West Indies
in Mona Campus in Jamaica, goes a step further.
“In general, tourists including Americans,
are safer in the Caribbean than in their home
countries,” he says.
In 2003, Harriott observes, “Only 0.0004
percent of all visitors to Jamaica reported
that they were victimized” by crime. In
Barbados, the only other Caribbean nation to
publish statistics on crimes against tourists,
the rate of violent crimes against tourists
was even lower.
Fair enough. But a review of the State Department’s
consular information sheets, which summarize
travel conditions for every country in the world,
shows that crime directly threatens tourists
in numerous Caribbean destinations, most notably
in the Bahamas, Belize, Honduras, Jamaica, St.
Maarten, St. Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago.”
Of course, St. Lucia has been named among these
Caribbean countries, where crime reportedly
threatens visitors.
Dear reader, please note the following statistics
on crime in Caribbean countries in recent years
:
A British couple on their honeymoon in Antigua
were shot in their hotel cottage last July.
The woman died on the scene, and her husband
died days later in a hospital in Wales.
-- Also on Antigua, an Australian yachtsman
was shot and killed Jan. 22 while trying to
protect his girlfriend and 21-month-old daughter
during an attempted mugging.
-- A pregnant American out for a jog in Puerto
Rico was abducted, raped and killed on Feb.
4.
-- In October, two British women were raped
at knifepoint in their holiday villa in Tobago.
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The recent high-profile
murder of a honeymooning couple in Antigua
has put an unwelcome spotlight on the risk
of becoming a victim of crime in the Caribbean.
A 2007 report from the World Bank estimated
that the overall murder rate in the Caribbean
was 30 per 100,000 inhabitants, four times
that in North America. High rates of unemployment
and a lack of economic development, along
with narcotics trafficking, breed crime, violence,
and gangs in many Caribbean nations.
Violence is far more prevalent in some Caribbean
nations than others, although even in the
most troubled countries, violent crime rarely
touches tourists. On the other hand, experts
note, visitors are often more likely than
locals to be victims of property crimes, and
often are specifically targeted in locations
known to be frequented by tourists. Crime
can happen anywhere, and there are no guarantees.
However, experience and statistics indicate
that the following nations are among the most
secure in the Caribbean region:
•?Montserrat
•?The Cayman Islands
•?St. Barts
•?British Virgin Islands
•?Bonaire
•?Dominica
Not surprisingly, these tend to be the islands
that are either the most affluent or have
the least tourism development.
Property crime has also been increasing in
the Caribbean in recent years, and experts
say that the increase has been most pronounced
in highly developed tourist destinations,
including the Bahamas, Dominican Republic,
Jamaica, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands
(USVI).
St. Lucia is considered a transshipment point
for illegal narcotics bound for the United
States and Europe. St. Lucia has had numerous
incidents of violence that are suspected to
be a result of illegal narcotics activity.
In addition, in 2007, two individuals were
murdered as a result of gang related activity.
So where do we go from here as a Saint Lucian
community and society? Your guess is as good
as mine. But CRIME is a social aberration
with several tentacles; namely illiteracy,
poverty, unemployment, teenage pregnancy,
juvenile delinquency, gangsterism, thuggery,
gang warfare, poor housing, etc etc.
A major Norwegian cruise vessel threatened
to pull out of Saint Lucia last year due to
wanton criminal acts against its passengers.
As a major economic sector in Saint Lucia,
tourism must be jealously guarded from CRIME.
Our “Green Gold” is no more. So
let’s protect our tourism sector as
our primary “Bread Winner” from
economic adversity. We may start, by providing
employment opportunities for our school leavers,
and the growing army of delinquent and rebellious
young people.
Over to you Police Commissioner, Ausbert Regis,
and the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force.
Discuss
Story
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