How safe is Kingston?

A big question for those visiting Kingston is "How safe is the city?" In this post, I attempt to address this question. I know objectivity is at stake with this question and that the Jamaican government and tourism companies would want to present a crime-free image. Clearly, my own objectivity will be questioned as I want you to travel to Kingston. However, I plan to tackle this question as best as I can while checking my bias and presenting the information with sources/facts.

BACKGROUND 

I am actually embarrassed to address this question and definitely wish it never had to be addressed. But last week in the Jamaican press, it was reported that the US Embassy issued a cautionary travel warning for Americans visiting Jamaica ("Americans warned to 'exercise increased caution'"; Richardson, 2018). In my opinion, I attribute this action as a direct response to the death of an American citizen in December 2017 ("Police identify American murdered", 2017). While this incident did not take place specifically in Kingston, it is still disconcerting.

Back in 2015, when I moved back to Kingston, I too was fearful based on media reports and the stories circulated among Jamaicans in the Diaspora. But for the reality on the ground, today I am not as fearful as I was back then. But to be objective, I will present three perspectives on safety in Kingston based on:

• Official statistics
• Foreign government advisories
• press sources

Reports on serious crimes and violence in Kingston

So, while some Jamaican crime statistics seem to indicate improvement (declines in rape, robberies, break-ins), shootings are up ("JMA calls on Gov't", 2018). In addition, data from the Global Health Observatory data repository points out that Jamaica's national homicide rate is 35 persons out of 100,000. Yet, what these statistics do not tell us is how many tourists are within this number.  In addition, these statistics are islandwide and do not address Kingston specifically. So one thing to note is that you must be cautious about applying islandwide statistics to judge the safety of specific areas. Hence, to find out the statistics on Kingston (and St. Andrew) crime I turned to the Jamaica Constabulary Force's Information Management Unit and summarize the statistics in the infographic below. 

kingston crime by Mark-Shane Scale

However, these statistics do not tell us how many non-Jamaican visitors were victims. Considering that the Jamaica Tourist Board (2017) reported that 263,161 visitors to Jamaica stayed in hotels in 2016, how likely is it that any visitors will experience crime and violence? So, I turn to the other sources of government travel warnings and the Jamaican press.

Travel warnings

I appreciate the value of embassies or high commissions, especially those that have a physical presence in Jamaica as sources of information on Jamaica. I feel these are useful in getting reports that may not make it to the police, including assistance for help from their citizens or the personal experiences of their workers. So based on this, I looked to the US Department of State's (2018) website for their perspective. On January 10, 2018, they released a travel advisory update that the Jamaican press picked up. Their advisory warns against travel to some areas of Kingston due to crime. In fact, the US Department of State's (2018, January 10) website states that

"The Regional Security Office of the U.S. Embassy restricts travel by U.S. government personnel to certain urban areas of Jamaica, including but not limited to: Kingston – Downtown Kingston, including Mountain View, Trench Town, Tivoli Gardens, and Arnett Gardens;  Standpipe, Grants Pen, and Cassava Piece."

Fortunately, Downtown, Kingston has many safe areas. Jamaica's largest mosque and oldest Jewish synagogue are located there. Plus many of our stadiums and sporting arenas, including the National Stadium, which is located near the Mountain View area. So I actually wonder if and when the United States Male National Soccer Team plays Jamaica at the stadium if the US embassy workers attend these matches.

Canada also has its High Commission in the Kingston and St. Andrew area. The Government of Canada's (2018, January 10) website also warns that some areas in Kingston have

a significant gang population and high incidences of violent crime and should be avoided. These include Tivoli Gardens, Whitfield Town, Payne Land, West Kingston, Grant’s Pen, August Town, Denham Town, Hannah Town, Arnett Gardens, Olympic Gardens, Harbour View, Central Village, Spanish Town, Mountain View, Trench Town, Cassava Piece, Canterbury, Norwood and Rose Heights. 

Unfortunately, there are some errors on this page as a number of the places listed are not actually in Kingston and St. Andrew. This includes "Canterbury, Norwood and Rose Heights", which are actually in St. James/Montego Bay. You can verify this with Google Maps. Also, Spanish Town and Central Village are located more in the parish of St. Catherine rather than in the Kingston and St. Andrew area.

Finally, the United Kingdom has its High Commission in the New Kingston area. In a sense, the United Kingdom is the closest located to Kingston proper. (The US embassy and Canadian High Commission are in the St. Andrew area). The UK Government's un-dated advisory states

Gang violence and shootings are common, although usually confined to inner city neighbourhoods. Be especially cautious if you’re travelling to West Kingston, Grant’s Pen, August Town, Harbour View... (GOV.UK. n.d.)

This list of Kingston areas is shorter than the previous two, but that said, the website is missing the date of the last update, which means that a visitor is unable to know if the advisory is current. 

Press sources

The final perspective I present here are the press reports that directly report crimes perpetrated against non-Jamaicans in Kingston. We know that the press may not report everything. But if something major happens to a non-Jamaican, it definitely makes the news. Embarrassingly, for the year 2017, there was at least one news item about the robbery of Chinese nationals in a part of Kingston and St. Andrew not under the radar or surveillance of the foreign government travel advisories ("13 Chinese nationals" 2017). Despite this report, the actual news reports of recent deaths of non-Jamaicans in Jamaica have not actually occurred in Kingston, including the deaths of American missionaries in 2016 (Johnson, 2016) or the American model in 2017 (("Police identify American murdered").

Conclusion

In closing, I presented the facts for you to decide for yourself about the safety of Kingston. In my surveillance, visitors to Jamaica are unlikely to be killed in Kingston and would be very unlucky to end up in the police crime and violence statistics. Foreign government travel warnings are valuable but sometimes have errors or lack currency. Finally, the Jamaican press will definitely catch any major crime against a non-Jamaican in Jamaica. Recently, the only major crime reported in the Kingston area is a bizarre robbery of several Chinese nationals. On a positive note, do not let statistics and extreme outlier cases make you feel insecure about coming to Kingston,  Jamaica. Especially if you are coming here for a short stay. In a future post, I hope to give you tips for keeping safe in Kingston. 

References:

13 Chinese nationals among 15 men robbed in Kingston. (2017, October 5). Jamaica Observer. Retrieved January 14, 2018, from http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/latestnews/_Cops_hunting_gunmen_who_robbed_13_Chinese_nationals_in_Kingston?profile=1228

Americans warned to 'exercise increased caution' when travelling to Jamaica. (2018, January 11). The Jamaica Observer, Retrieved January 13, 2018, from http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/latestnews/Americans_warned_to_exercise_increased_caution_when_travelling_to_Jamaica_?profile=1228

Global Health Observatory data repository. (2016). Homicide Estimates by country. World Health Organization. Retrieved January 14, 2018, from http://apps.who.int/gho/data/view.main.VIOLENCEHOMICIDEv

Government of Canada, Global Affairs Canada. (2018, January 10). Travel Advice and Advisories for Jamaica. Retrieved January 14, 2018, from https://travel.gc.ca/destinations/jamaica

GOV.UK. (n.d.). Jamaica: Safety and security. Retrieved January 14, 2018, from https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/jamaica/safety-and-security

Jamaica Tourist Board. (2017, September 4). Annual Travel Statistics 2016. Retrieved January 14, 2018, from http://www.jtbonline.org/report-and-statistics/annual-travel/

JMA calls on Gov't, Opposition to work together in crime fight. (2018, January 10). Jamaica Observer. Retrieved January 13, 2018, from http://301-joweb.newscyclecloud.com/news/jma-calls-on-gov-8217-t-opposition-to-work-together-in-crime-fight_122105?profile=122

Johnson, J. (2016, May 02). 'Horrible deaths' - Bodies of American missionaries found in St Mary, US Embassy wants killers nabbed quickly. Jamaica Gleaner, Retrieved January 14, 2018, from http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/lead-stories/20160502/horrible-deaths-bodies-american-missionaries-found-st-mary-us-embassy

Police identify American murdered in St James. (2017, December 1). Jamaica Observer, Retrieved January 13, 2018, from http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/latestnews/Police_identify_American_murdered_in_St_James?profile=1228

Richardson, J. (2018, January 10). US issues 'exercise increased caution' travel advisory against Jamaica. Loop, Retrieved January 13, 2018, from http://www.loopjamaica.com/content/us-issues-exercise-increased-caution-travel-advisory-against-jamaica

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE — BUREAU OF CONSULAR AFFAIRS. (2018, January 10). "Travel AdvisoryJanuary 10, 2018: Jamaica – Level 2: Exercise increased caution." Travel.State.Gov Retrieved January 14, 2018, from https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Jamaica.html