Jamaica?s capital, Kingstown, remains the most violent and potentially dangerous location on the island. The city contributes the largest share of homicides to the state total and is controlled by drug lords and gang members.
Gang violence and Jamaican politics go hand-in-hand. Among the Jamaicans, the phenomenon of violence for political ends is called ?garrison politics? and dates back to the 1970s when two political parties?the People?s National Party (PNP) and the Jamaica Labor Party (JLP)–enlisted the support of local gangs to secure victory in national elections. Since the 1970s, drug lords have replaced gang leaders and have brutally secured their turf from rival cartels, contributing to the city?s high murder rate.
Added to the growing criminal gang populations in Jamaica are the repatriations of an average of 40 Jamaicans from the US , Canada , and the UK every week. The majority of deportees have lengthy rap sheets, with many intimitely familiar with the profits that can be garnered from cocaine operations and distribution in Jamaica.
Kingstown drug cartels and organized criminal gangs are expanding their turf wars and criminal activities elsewhere on the island and have begun to affect popular Jamaican tourist destinations such as Montego Bay.
Despite criminal woos, the Jamaican government is predicting a record winter tourist season in 2007. Historically, Jamaica?s elevated crime rates have failed to impact the country?s tourism sector negatively. Most tourists visit the northern coastal resorts in Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, and Negril, areas that had not experienced increases in criminal activities. Montego Bay is traditionally Jamaica?s largest tourist destination, attracting more than one million visitors a year.
Notably, only one tourist was killed in Montego Bay in 2005. A total of 180 people were murdered in St. James parish, where Montego Bay is located, in 2006, up from 144 in 2005, including a gang related triple homicide. The parish?s homicide rate was the third highest of the country?s 13 parishes in 2006 and appears on track to match and/or surpass these numbers in 2007.Since January 1, 2007, however, 12 people?none tourists–have been killed in St. James parish. None of the victims were killed in Montego Bay city limits, but rather on the outskirts of the city. The growth of impoverished enclaves just outside city limits represents a significant challenge to the tourism sector and is recognized as the leading cause of increased criminal activity in the parish. Although the Jamaican government is anticipating a successful winter tourist season, the government?s efforts to increase security levels in Montego Bay specifically demonstrate its concern that increasing crime rates will deter travel to the island.
Ocho Rios and Negril have not yet witnessed an increase in homicide rates or other violent criminal acts. However, notwithstanding a successful, comprehensive Jamaican security push, both Ocho Rios and Negril will likely experience similar crime increases in the near to mid-term. Instability associated with rampant criminality in Kingstown will eventually impact Jamaica?s tourism sector, hindering the state?s ability to attract foreign travelers and subsequently affecting the national economy.