Oncedeported,
Living here, I can tell you with no reluctance that the entire community of Negril and the surrounding areas are pleased and grateful with the police sweep last month.
The police sweep you are referring to was done specifically for the reason to deter crime in Westmoreland. The police have been hard at work all summer stemming what had been taking place, to continue to keep Negril a safe destination to visit.
The police targeted certain individuals and communites (not just Negril) in the large Westemoreland parish and did their job with the community sweeps and have gotten those 13 guns and ammunition off the streets. In addition, they eliminated some of the bad guys responsible for this situation.
We are all grateful for their dedication to this effort. They have been doing the sweeps island wide all summer and should be commended for their efforts.
As for the few events you mentioned, they have taken place over nearly a 10 year time period.
Gino, the owner of Mariposa was a good friend of mine and he died in 2005, nearly a decade ago. This in no way was a tourist related incident and was of a more personal nature. No tourists were involved and was directed toward Gino, a business owner in Negril. This issue has been discussed on various threads here on Negril.com
Ted Plumber, also a hotel owner in Negril and a personal friend, arrived home during a robbery at his home in Caudwell, Hanover, not Westmoreland, in June 2012. It occurred about 40 minutes from Negril and has no tourist related aspects to it. No tourists were involved and was once again directed towards the business owner. The perpetrators were apprehended. This tragic event was discussed on a thread here on Negril.com the day after it occurred.
Any visitor to Negril, be it an AI visitor or boutique hotel visitor can learn nothing from these events that happened 7 years apart, other than the fact that they occurred. The visitor's behaviour or experience would be irrelevant in either of these events. And both these events have already been discussed here on Negril.com.
As for the rape you mentioned that happened in June of 2011, this tragic event did NOT occur near the Treehouse, but on an area of the beach far past Treehouse. The perpetrator was identified and caught. But to once again spread misinformation is unfair to Gail, Treehouse and anyone reading this incorrect information.
It was not discussed here due to the privacy requests from those involved, but was discussed at length on TA. Here is the response that Bnewb, one of TA's local Negril Experts, posted in that thread:
"Sorry, I did not get back to this earlier...but I do have a life here in Negril and do get busy....and since I live here and am fortunate to have many strong, reliable connections...I do know the facts! I do not play with rumor & speculation and do not play in the game of who thinks they know the most...this is way to serious of an incident. As a woman living in Negril...I take this very seriously, probably more so than any visitor coming to Jamaica.
And, from what I've seen and heard on the internet there is much misinformation ie. incorrect information being posted about this incident. Incorrect dates, wrong locations, resorts being named that are no where near nor have anything to do with the incident, and false and misleading details.
Because of the privacy requests from the people involved...it is not my place to give any specific details...but the added reminders to keep your wits about you, stay out of isolated areas at night and walk in lighted locations is probably the best thing to come out of this terrible event."
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic...h_Jamaica.html
Lisa, (Bnewb) is correct in her advice to all visitors to Jamaica to stay out of isolated, unlit areas at night.
And in the most recent thread about the robbery that took place, warnings about not using random route taxi as well as not walking in unlit areas were given to everyone as a warning. Here is a quote from one of my posts:
"There is a system that has been put in place by the Jamaican government and JTB to directly serve the needs of those visitors to our beautiful island.
I can no more recommend that visitors use the route taxi system, which was designed with the local populace in mind than I can recommend walking through the unlit areas of the beach at night.
It is simply not wise advice."
In summary, this site is constantly giving safety tips to visitors to Negril, regardless of their "street wise" status. Even those who feel they are seasoned travelers can still make unwise decisions.
But Negril is genuinely a very safe place to visit, even for new visitors or AI guests exploring Negril for the first time.
