Crime threads...advice for a sort of newbie?

[MissBlue]

has Negril changed so much that crime is rampant?

Yes it has changed a lot. and 'somewhat' for the 2nd half of the question. Maybe not 'rampant' per se, but nowadays it is ALWAYS there in the background ... Even if it doesn't happen everyday, or to you specifically, it has crept into the vibes.

another Philadelphian here -- and all this "it happens everywhere" is true, but it's not the POINT.

for me the point is ----> I'm not gonna spend a couple thousand dollars to go on vacation to a place where the vibes have deteriorated to a level where it is now no better than the big-city crime vibes at home. It's not about individual "incidents" - nor is it about the tiresome trend of somehow 'disproving' the validity of incidents because the victim may have been tipsy, or forgot to lock ALL 16 locks on their door, so it was THEIR fault. That is horse hockey. It's about the VIBE. Having to be on alert, and constantly having to watch my back just like I'm at 18th and Girard, is not irie or relaxing vibes. I don't drink but i DO enjoy going out at night, dancing til the wee hours at a club, walking by the sea in the moonlight - none of these things are 'unwise' - they're normal activities that people do on holiday; it's WHY we go on vacation. and if these kinds of very basic vacation activities are not safe to do - then it's not an enjoyable safe place to go.

I have loved Jamaica for 30 years, and defended it to everyone who said i was nuts - but no more. At this point for me JA is like 'that one guy' I never stopped loving, but had to break up with because some of his behavior got SO BAD that it reached a tipping point where it began to overshadow the parts of him that were good.

I don't go on vacation to be under the same kind of stress I have at home - where the 'advice' is to go in the hotel at 9 pm, never venturing out until morning. that is just ridiculous. There ARE still other places in the world I can go where crime, violence, resentment of tourism, and negativity is not the daily reality ... where the vibes are nice, where people can enjoy a walk under the stars, dance til dawn, splash your feet in the sea at 3 am if you want to... and be perfectly safe doing so.

[Yesihunt2]

Don't flash your bling, don't carry your 'life savings' with you, and stay sober.......

[Rob]

Rampant? If "rampant" means a very small number, then well, I guess so. There have been well over 1 million visitors to Negril over the past 3 years, and yet the number of incidents can be counted using your fingers. Here is what I wrote in a different thread to put things in perspective:

"After living here daily for over 20 years, I have had zero incidents of theft. That is zero, as in none. I am not naive enough to believe it can never happen, but in 20 plus years, it hasnt. And I dont think "being lucky" has much to do with it. The vast majority of those over a million visitors to Negril in the past 3 years have also experienced zero incidents of theft. Negril, with a small local population takes it personally when a visitor does experience an incident. And they are few and far between when you consider half a million people a year are visiting the tropical shores of Negril.

As reported by Hussyband during his incident, the neighbour women all came to his and his wife's rescue wanting to help. The police were very responsive to the problem and took active measures to help. And in the most recent story related, once again the neighbours stayed up all night with Kahuna3 and the police responded quickly to the incident.

In both these cases, the incident could have been prevented, admittedly by those that it happened. Not taking route taxis would have prevented the first case, and using the locking mechanism and deadbolt provided by the property would have prevented the second. Of course it was the thief that caused the incident and is the guilty party, but leaving oneself open to be an easy target does increase your odds of incident happening substantially anywhere.

Staying out til 3am at Scrub-a-Dub may not be the wisest behaviour. Walking in unlit areas at night may not be the smartest thing you could do. Never invite someone you just met back to your room. Just because someone seems charming and you have shared a few drinks and stories does not make them a "friend". Con-artists rely on this flaw in human nature and take advantage of it at every opportunity. And this goes for locals and tourists alike. I have seen more than my share of tourist on tourist crime. It takes years of substantial interaction for someone to become a real friend. If you feel you have made a real friend on your first trip, that person is probably looking out for their own interests more than they are yours.

And since that scourge of cocaine has been brought up, if you get yourself involved in that area, well, you may get exactly what you deserve. And remember, without the demand, there would be no supply. Jamaicans will not waste their time trying to sell something no one wants.

Also, there are almost always at least two sides to every story you hear on the net. Dont blindly believe them. A poster came up with a "list" of incidents that he had "heard" about. Well, we know a bit of the other side to some of those stories, and they happened over 3 year time period.

I wouldnt put too much reliability on anything that an admitted cocaine user says happened. Heck, back in the 80's when I worked the rock-n-roll circuit in Ohio, I saw many people empty their ATM accounts in one night and then have no memory of it in the morning and then blame everyone but themselves.

Another of these incidents involved a pair of sunglasses that the owner admitted they left at a bar and wrote it off as a case of "finders keepers". They have no idea who took the glasses and blame themselves for leaving them at the bar. To call it a case of theft is a bit over the top.

And for another incident, let's be fair, a coffee cup is not the most secure place you can put your money. I am not blaming the victim, but I am sure there was a better spot to hide the money.

And some cases are pure fiction. I happened to be at a hotel early one morning to work on their wireless when the police showed up. The woman and her Jamaican boyfriend claimed their room was broken into while they were gone and all their cash, credit cards and traveler's checks were stolen. They said they couldnt pay for the room and that since they were robbed, the hotel should let them stay for free. Oddly enough, the police found no sign of forced entry and their iPad, laptop, camera and smartphones were all sitting in plain sight, all items that could be easily sold. And yet they were not touched. Just because you hear one side of a story, please dont blindly believe it.

And tonight, there will be 100's of visitors that will get so inebriated on their drug of choice that they will not remember how they got back to their room. And yet they will arrive safe and sound without incident. This happens every single day in Negril and like their behaviour or not, they end up just fine.

It is foolish to think you have to be on your "A Game" all the time and quite frankly, I have seen many that make it just fine on their B, C or even D Game. Negril is an extremely safe place to vacation. The fact that we all can only come up with a few number of incidents per year should make you think. Thanks to the internet, all the information is now out there - no one can hide anything anymore."

[kibby]

ok, so here is what I'm hearing:
Beach ok during day
Don't get trashed (not planning on it)
Don't buy coke (not planning on it)
Don't exchange money on the street

Is beach ok to walk on at night? What's the deal with the taxis? Heard something mentioned about that.

I'll do the town/hills thing with my Jamaican friends....BTW, I called them after reading these threads and while they laughed a bit, they did say things have changed a lot since I used to come down. I'm starting to wonder if it's gonna feel like being in an AI if wandering around isn't safe like it used to be. But tickets booked and I am excited. Mostly looking forward to seeing old friends. And given that it's 5 degrees in Philly, I'm really looking forward to the warmth.

Thanks for the feedback. At some point I'll scan some of my old Negril pix from the 80s and post them....most are in the mountains, but I have a bunch of pix from the T Water hotel where I used to hang out on the beach.

[Flipadelphia26]

Beach at night is something we try not to do. Never heard of anything bad happening to anyone, but it's a "Why tempt fate" thing for me.

[Mike_D]

Maybe this summer. I have a pool, and a outdoor bar next to said pool. As well as some 3 dives jerk sauce. We could pretend.

(Moved out to chester county.)

I'm in! Maybe I can smuggle back some authentic Red Stripe on my next trip.

LOL...you mean us Narbs aren't intimidating?

You Main Line folks are the scariest! I was once run off the road by a Volvo on Lancaster Ave.

[kibby]

I'm in! Maybe I can smuggle back some authentic Red Stripe on my next trip.


You Main Line folks are the scariest! I was once run off the road by a Volvo on Lancaster Ave.

Yeah well watch out for my mini!!! It's pretty intimidating.

So if we are staying on beach (sister and self) and want to go out to listen to music on beach somewhere, we should go to road and taxi?

[Flipadelphia26]

Depends where on the beach you are? If you dont mind walking, walking is OK.

[Lax1724]

In December, we decided to walk the road from BHV to Best of the West for a late dinner. We weren't sure how far it was and stopped to ask a couple of Tourism Police officers that we came across. They ended up walking with us the whole way there. We sat down, ordered and 3 minutes later, we were served our dinner. After dinner, our waiter drove us back (for a very reasonable fee). True story.

[groove16]

my 2 cents...u will be fine...sounds like u got some sense....I usually go to the music venues 3-4 times a week (alfreds, roots, bourbon) during our stay...passed flip on several occaions...lol....both with my wife and alone....and never taxied...most of the time, i walked the beach, and have only had one incident.....it was right outside of alfreds, one of the ganja dealers not wanting to take no for an answer....lasted about 30 secs, with a louder "I said NO THANKS"....some of the other "hustlers" who had seen me all week, sent him on his way....i feel safe on the beach, but that is just me....i always make friends with security at my place and take their advice....the road at night has alot of activity, as flip said, so more folks to watch out for you....