Quote Originally Posted by alix View Post
I'm traveling to Negril in Dec with my husband and 2 adult daughters and I must say that reading these comments make me very uncomfortable. What I find most disconcerting is the lack of specific information that might help us to be more aware and how to avoid trouble. What EXACTLY is going on in Negril? Stabbings? Rape? Getting jumped as tourists walk to a restaurant and robbed and beaten? Taxi drivers taking you to unknown places and stealing your money? or worse? I've read all the comments and haven't found specific examples or situations that I might avoid to ensure our safety. Also, the same people comment in this thread about feeling unsafe, are the same ones who assured me in my own previous thread that I had nothing to worry about.

We're not naive travellers but I get that even the most astute can become victims. I currently live in what is considered the "most violent city in Canada" where a**h*** kids or young adults are randomly macheting people, swarming stores to rob them blindly, meth is fueling rage and violence beyond anyone imagination. It's totally out of control but I also know that by avoiding certain areas and groups of people I'm safer then if I'm hanging outside the bar at 2:00 am lipping off to an angry gang ready to curb stomp any one who looks at them the wrong way. I also know a lot of the violence is a result of addictions and they're turning on each other so the numbers are skewed and the general public isn't as threatened as it may seem.

So again, my question is, what exactly is happening? And how do we stay safe? What and who do we avoid?
Bad news travels fast and a lot of the people on the board are repeat visitors so realize that they often know of the people involved and post their condolences which keeps the thread alive unlike positive posts that tend to sink into the oblivion. Jamaica has a population slightly larger than Toronto and the majority of that population is (obviously) in the big cities and Negril is not one of them.

Tourists are pretty much a protected species in Negril as it behooves the local businesses to keep it that way to avoid the negative affects of bad press and travel advisories. Most of the violent crime is Jamaican on Jamaican and, occasionally, a person who stays long-term around Jamaicans and less frequently a tourist in the wrong place at the wrong time. If you use the same common sense that you would at home, you should be quite safe and enjoy a nice vacation.

Respect.