Tourist Victimization in Jamaica
Author: David Humphreys
2 Commentries
There is no doubt a strong correlation between international tourism and host country crime rates, tourists may find themselves to be victims of crime when they are on holiday. The scope of the main paper highlights the dangers tourists may encounter whilst visiting destinations like The Caribbean. (Albuquerque. K, McElroy 1999 and Chesney-Lind. M, Lind. I. Y. 1986). The Caribbean experiences crime problems due to lack of social and economic development, communities and infrastructures sometimes cannot cope with the stress brought about by tourism development. Jamaica is a common destination among holiday makers can be dangerous if tourists leave the confines of the holiday resorts (Albuquerque. K, McElroy 1999). The inability of less developed countries infrastructures, communication systems, and public services to deal with the demand brought about by tourism causes seasonal problems for destinations, such as high levels of crime which can have a serious impact on the destination image.
There are many factors which contribute to the victimization of tourists which involve race, language, and even clothing. Tourists make easy targets for criminals because they may display valuable items and carry large sums of money, as well as this, when on holiday tourists act differently and are less likely to take the normal precautions that they would at home, tourists tend to take part in higher risk taking activities and will be in an unfamiliar environment which makes tourists more vulnerable to criminal activity.
The peak season for crime is also during the peak tourism season which shows the relationship between the increase of crime and tourist arrivals to Jamaica. (Albuquerque. K, McElroy. J. 1999). The article 'Tourism and Crime in Jamaica' outlines three main elements which occur for crime to take place; the tourist who may not be fully aware of the environment they are in, a determined criminal, and the absence of 'capable guardians' such as law enforcement and police services. This has lead to the emergence of criminal sub-cultures such as gangs in the less developed regions of Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and St. Lucia. This is a direct result of low employment, lack of development, and low education as well as the desire for the consumption of the latest goods, driven by western consumer culture and globalization.
The article 'Visitors as Victims' (Chesney-Lind. M, Lind. I. Y. 1986) highlights how advertising may encourage deviant behaviour, many hotels and airlines often advertise the concept of sun, sea and sex which promotes the idea of pursuing sex or romance, possibly leading to deviant behaviour, and this is described to be a contributing factor to the rise in prostitution in Waikiki. The increase of rapes, assaults and murder were covered extensively in the media which had a negative effect on the Caribbean's tourism industry so as a result, army patrols were placed in the street, curfews were imposed on youths, and travel advisories issued to tourists.
The development of hotels in the resort regions of Hawaii resulted in a 300 per cent increase of crimes related to theft, drugs and prostitution according to the Royal Barbados Police Force website. Tourism is described to be one of six main economic factors which explains the changes of juvenile behavior in Hawaii, in other words this implies that tourism creates a demand for criminal activity, although there is a clear link between tourism and crime, it seems a little simplistic to suggest that it is the increase of tourism that promotes higher crime rates among residents.
The risk of being a victim of crime is a worldwide issue; research shows less developed destinations have higher crime rates due to social and economic factors including lack of employment and education. There are precautions that tourists should take whilst visiting unfamiliar; these include issues such as leaving valuable items in safe places and not displaying portable wealth items such as cameras. Countries such as Jamaica issue travel advisories to tourists informing of the best ways to stay safe and should not be ignored, tourists who ignore these advisories and who take part in deviant behavior are much more likely to be victims of crimes like robberies as well as more rape and murder.
It is clear that the seasonality of tourism has similar patterns to the seasonality of crime, and tourists are targets because they carry large sums of money and are less likely to report a crime due to language barriers and the nuisance of getting involved with unpleasant situations, away from home. The fact remains that policing in less developed regions such as the Caribbean is not effective towards preventing crimes against tourists, possibly because of a lack of funding and resources, or more likely because of lack of interest, after all, tourists are only temporary visitors.
 
References
Albuquerque. K, McElroy. J. (1999) Tourism and Crime in the Caribbean. Annals of Tourism Research. Vol.26 No.4 pp. 968-984
Andvig. C. J. (1997) Some International Dimensions to Economic Crime and Police Activity. Nordic Journal of Political Economy. Vol. 24 pp.159-175
Chesney-Lind. M, Lind. I. Y. (1986) Visitors as Victims- Crimes Against Tourists in Hawaii. Annals of Tourism Research. Vol. 13 pp. 167-191
Glensor. W. R, Peak. J. K. (2004) Crimes Against Tourists. Problem-Oriented Guides for Police Problem-Specific Guides Series. No. 26
http://www.barbadospolice.gov.bb/_sec_x.cfm?category=Police%20statistics§ion=CRIME Accessed on the 15-04-2010 at 13:44
http://www.has7.com/tourism-and-crime Accessed on the 15-04-2010 at 14:24
http://www.propertyshowrooms.com/thailand/guide/crime-and-police-in-thailand.asp Accessed on the 16-04-2010 at 12:15
http://www.popcenter.org/problems/crimes_against_tourists/3 Accessed on the 16-04-2010 at 18:10
There are many factors which contribute to the victimization of tourists which involve race, language, and even clothing. Tourists make easy targets for criminals because they may display valuable items and carry large sums of money, as well as this, when on holiday tourists act differently and are less likely to take the normal precautions that they would at home, tourists tend to take part in higher risk taking activities and will be in an unfamiliar environment which makes tourists more vulnerable to criminal activity.
The peak season for crime is also during the peak tourism season which shows the relationship between the increase of crime and tourist arrivals to Jamaica. (Albuquerque. K, McElroy. J. 1999). The article 'Tourism and Crime in Jamaica' outlines three main elements which occur for crime to take place; the tourist who may not be fully aware of the environment they are in, a determined criminal, and the absence of 'capable guardians' such as law enforcement and police services. This has lead to the emergence of criminal sub-cultures such as gangs in the less developed regions of Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and St. Lucia. This is a direct result of low employment, lack of development, and low education as well as the desire for the consumption of the latest goods, driven by western consumer culture and globalization.
The article 'Visitors as Victims' (Chesney-Lind. M, Lind. I. Y. 1986) highlights how advertising may encourage deviant behaviour, many hotels and airlines often advertise the concept of sun, sea and sex which promotes the idea of pursuing sex or romance, possibly leading to deviant behaviour, and this is described to be a contributing factor to the rise in prostitution in Waikiki. The increase of rapes, assaults and murder were covered extensively in the media which had a negative effect on the Caribbean's tourism industry so as a result, army patrols were placed in the street, curfews were imposed on youths, and travel advisories issued to tourists.
The development of hotels in the resort regions of Hawaii resulted in a 300 per cent increase of crimes related to theft, drugs and prostitution according to the Royal Barbados Police Force website. Tourism is described to be one of six main economic factors which explains the changes of juvenile behavior in Hawaii, in other words this implies that tourism creates a demand for criminal activity, although there is a clear link between tourism and crime, it seems a little simplistic to suggest that it is the increase of tourism that promotes higher crime rates among residents.
The risk of being a victim of crime is a worldwide issue; research shows less developed destinations have higher crime rates due to social and economic factors including lack of employment and education. There are precautions that tourists should take whilst visiting unfamiliar; these include issues such as leaving valuable items in safe places and not displaying portable wealth items such as cameras. Countries such as Jamaica issue travel advisories to tourists informing of the best ways to stay safe and should not be ignored, tourists who ignore these advisories and who take part in deviant behavior are much more likely to be victims of crimes like robberies as well as more rape and murder.
It is clear that the seasonality of tourism has similar patterns to the seasonality of crime, and tourists are targets because they carry large sums of money and are less likely to report a crime due to language barriers and the nuisance of getting involved with unpleasant situations, away from home. The fact remains that policing in less developed regions such as the Caribbean is not effective towards preventing crimes against tourists, possibly because of a lack of funding and resources, or more likely because of lack of interest, after all, tourists are only temporary visitors.
 
References
Albuquerque. K, McElroy. J. (1999) Tourism and Crime in the Caribbean. Annals of Tourism Research. Vol.26 No.4 pp. 968-984
Andvig. C. J. (1997) Some International Dimensions to Economic Crime and Police Activity. Nordic Journal of Political Economy. Vol. 24 pp.159-175
Chesney-Lind. M, Lind. I. Y. (1986) Visitors as Victims- Crimes Against Tourists in Hawaii. Annals of Tourism Research. Vol. 13 pp. 167-191
Glensor. W. R, Peak. J. K. (2004) Crimes Against Tourists. Problem-Oriented Guides for Police Problem-Specific Guides Series. No. 26
http://www.barbadospolice.gov.bb/_sec_x.cfm?category=Police%20statistics§ion=CRIME Accessed on the 15-04-2010 at 13:44
http://www.has7.com/tourism-and-crime Accessed on the 15-04-2010 at 14:24
http://www.propertyshowrooms.com/thailand/guide/crime-and-police-in-thailand.asp Accessed on the 16-04-2010 at 12:15
http://www.popcenter.org/problems/crimes_against_tourists/3 Accessed on the 16-04-2010 at 18:10