Can you post about crime here?

[Ashley Felkel]

Can you post about crime on this site or will it be deleted (like on Trip Advisor?)
I'd like to post an incident that happened Wednesday night on the beach.

Thanks,

[Negril1990]

I think so , but not rumours

[TAH]

So long as you have direct knowledge, should be fine. It may get deleted, it may not. Depends on the context and whether it's first hand account or not...

[Rob]

Thanks Negril1990 and TAH!

Ashley,

By all means people need to know the truth about things that happen. Truthful information is power. If this happened to you, give as much detail as you feel comfortable to help others. But if it is a "I heard that someone said that abc happened", then that really cant help anyone as no one here knows what really happened.

We always want people to know the truth, but not speculation or rumor as that serves no real purpose. if there can be "more to the story", relating only part of it can actually be harmful to our visitors. The Negril Rumor Mill is known for being incredibly colorful but also incredibly inaccurate...

To all - please relate your first hand information as everyone needs to know if something bad happens. I have to tip my hat to our posters who have related their true experiences. Their experiences brought up discussions that might not have otherwise been brought to light.

Not relating it here is like not reporting it to the police. Nothing can be done/changed from a position of non-knowledge.

Thanks for asking Ashley. Negril.com was around way before TA...

[MikeyNYC]

edit: this ended up longer than I thought. Sorry.

Thanks Rob. I had a run in while I was there in Sept of last year. I didn't post back then because I didn't want to stoke the fire, so to speak. But what you say about not relating it here makes sense to me now.

I was walking down the beach road on the sea side from Bourbon Beach to my hotel. It was late, probably around 3am. I wasn't sober but definitely able to walk a straight line, carry on a conversation, and was well aware of everything around me. So about halfway, this girl, prob about 19/20, jeans, t-shirt, corn rows, and kinda butchy, comes from a path in the bush. I have some gay friends at home and found it odd/interesting, she says hello and we're just talking. Everything seems fine. After a few minutes, another kid comes out of the bush with shorts and a t shirt on. She introduces me (i forgot their names, sorry), and we say hello to each other. Young kid, 18/19, maybe 125lbs. He's pretty wasted. Real lethargic, seemed to me like a heroin high but could have been a lot of ganja and rum.

Everything still seems fine. She's standing at my 12 and he's at my nine. He comes over and shakes my hand. Now he's at my 3. She's about 5 feet away and he's next to me. After he shakes my hand, he takes his hand and puts it under his shirt and says "give me what you got or I'll blast you." With the other hand, he's reaching in my right pocket. I look at her and she starts to apologize, saying "he's really messed up" but doesn't try to stop him. I have 60 lbs on him, and I'm pretty sure he doesn't have a gun, since he only has a ragged tshirt and pretty tight shorts on, plus I've already seen both his hands. I push his hand out of my pocket with my right hand and with my left, swipe towards the "gun" which turns out to be his hand. I push him away and create some distance and start yelling at them. Basically shaming them and saying "go on, get out of here."

So now he changes his tune. He says he's sorry and just really hungry and now begs me for $5. I think I only had about J$1200 left in my pocket and prob would have bought them some chicken if they had just asked. I tell them no and to beat it.

I start walking away towards my place and after a few steps, look back to see what they're doing. They start following me staying about 20 paces back. So I keep walking until i see a chicken barrel with some guys and taxis hanging out. So I stop and start making small talk with the chef and get a water. The kids stop and don't come any closer. I asked the cook who the driver was and took a taxi the rest of the way home.

I wasn't wearing a watch or any jewelry. i only had a tshirt and shorts on. I'm not a big guy, but not small either. Point being is that I don't think I looked like a mark, but not to make light of the situation, that probably speaks to these two kids, just being kids, and not real stick up artists. Looking back, I should should have just given him the 12 bucks, but at the moment, it was a pride thing. I was incredulous, annoyed and insulted at the prospect of getting mugged by these two.

I can't say that I'm not going to walk the road or beach again but if I've had too much, I'll likely get in a taxi instead of walking. One thing I will do is keep more distance in these situations and trust my gut. There was the split second when he started coming into my space where I could have stepped back and changed the situation. I would rarely if ever, let two strangers get that close to me late at night, in my day to day life. Instead of listening to my gut feeling, I ignored it because I wanted everything to be irie. Fortunately, the only thing lost was innocence, but that still is a big loss for me.

[Bnewb]

Mikey, sorry that this happened to you...glad you got out of it safely.

Not a critical comment but an observation...most of the incidences to do with tourists lately seem to be taking place after 1am.
Do what you would do back home...stay safe and don't be walking anywhere late at night...get a cab.
We have loads of great drivers just a call away to get you around safely.

[halfwaytree]

Frig! They try to robb you and when that does not pan out the way they hope they ask you to take pity on them and give them money. Now that's rich!

Sad to say but when in Negril (not talking about Jamaica on the whole, just Negril and other tourist areas witin Jamaica) enyone that approaches me and wants to shake my hand I ignore. I sure as hell do not stop to talk to them.

Jamaicans on the whole (once you leave the tourist areas) are wonderful people.

Sorry to hear about your troubles!

[sher]

Mikey, I think you totally did the right thing. Giving them money would have just validated what they did. Sorry this happened to you - fortunately this story didn't have a bad ending.

[Kahuna3]

Sad to say but when in Negril (not talking about Jamaica on the whole, just Negril and other tourist areas witin Jamaica) enyone that approaches me and wants to shake my hand I ignore. I sure as hell do not stop to talk to them.
Jamaicans on the whole (once you leave the tourist areas) are wonderful people.

I agree. Experience has taught me that 100% of the locals (other than the ones that I already know) who approach me on the beach want $$ in one form or the other. If I'm bored, I might engage them for the fun of it, but generally, like you, I studiously ignore them. This sometimes results in "show me respect!" comments, which is irony at its best.

The other night (8:30pm) I was walking past Alfreds on my way back to my room. There was a show that night, so the barrier has been erected. There was a group of locals hanging out near the entrance. One guy who I'd never seen before, (40's, white T-shirt and pants, drunk or stoned) saw me and made a b-line for me with his hand outstretched. I couldn't avoid him due to the narrow strip of beach between the barrier and the water.

"Hey! I remember you!" he said.

"No, it's my first time here," I replied. I didn't take his hand.

"Yes, your first time here! I remember you!" He was now right up in my face. I walked around him.

"Hey! Shake my hand! Show me respect!" he said. "Are you having a good time in Jamaica?"

I ignored him and kept on walking. He reverted to patois and gave me a blast, sprinkled with the classic Jamaican invectives.

I kept walking. When I was about 20 yards past the barrier I looked back. The dude was closing in on me, still muttering. He was clearly visible in the bright light of the full moon. He seemed angry. His posture was aggressive.

I turned around and walked back towards Alfred's where a security type was standing at the entrance to the venue. I skirted around the guy. He pivoted and stopped, watching me. I went into the venue and had a beer.

Later I walked back to my room, un-accosted.

Not a big thing but I just don't want to deal with it anymore. That's why I seldom venture onto the beach at night unless I'm with my homies.

[STRIPER]

Kahuna,that's the kind of situation that pushed us to the cliffs,sadly,it's going to push a lot of people to not come back...