Well said Accompong (as usual).
Alix, I have read your post several times and I believe I can pick out the city where you live based on what is happening there. We live in Brandon (and I policed Brandon for 33 years). Meth has taken over Brandon with a vengeance and everything you have described is going on in Brandon as well. Having said that, and I am 100% sure of this, I feel safer here in Negril than I do at home in Manitoba. Things are happening here in Negril but crimes against a tourist are almost non existent. My wife and myself drive around in an open air covertable. We have circumnavigated the island twice. We don't live a high risk live style, and we have never felt unsafe. In fact just the opposite. In Canada we meet on the street and we say "how's it going". It's more of a greeting than an actual question, and I swear if we ever stopped and told people how we were really doing the response you'd get would be......"Ya, let me know how that works out for you". In Negril, if you ever told someone that you were having a bad day, your car broke down, you have a flat tire, ran out of gas, you'd have so many Jamaican's trying to help out it would be crazy. One day my wife stopped to chat with the wickerman that we have know for years. She just let it slip out that she was having problems with her bicycle. 40 minutes later the wickerman is at the door with the bike repair guy (from under his tree) to fix her bike. That is truly what it is like in Negril. So there is a little humor to bring some light to a rather dark thread.
Alix those bad things you spoke of in your post may have happened, maybe not. If they did happen it was over a very long stretch of time and maybe a long time ago.
Alix, come to Jamaica, be happy, be careful, but be happy. Maybe you be one of those return visitors everyone is talking about.