What high crime means to Jamaica: While it persists, get used to low growth

• April 01 2020
• http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business-observer/what-high-crime-means-to-jamaica-while-it-persists-get-used_to_low_growth_191032

No amount of comparison changes the fact that Jamaica's crime problems are Jamaica's problems, and for it to solve, alone or with the help of outside agencies.

For the most part, discussion of crime in Jamaica focuses on murders, their level and rate, but the reality is that crime is much more than that.

The whole gamut of violent crime causes most ordinary people to be frightened — nothing matches personal violation — and I don't know if the trauma of possible or actual violent assault can be seen as much different from the thoughts that someone may take your life.

Rape is a real threat, especially to women. Assaults on children often raise people's concerns. We see that criminals strike at the most vulnerable. The threat of burglaries or home invasions would fill most residents with fear. Car thefts and theft of other valuable property isn't seen as trivial by those who suffer it, but possessions can be replaced; not so limbs and lives.

However, the picture of crime in Jamaica that's usually painted doesn't touch things other than murder very much, though the narrative of the Jamaica Constabulary Force is changing. However, JCF's recent attempt to re-profile the image of crime in Jamaica as 'improving' by looking at it over a longer time period and comparing averages showing that JCF was making 'progress' did not go down well.

TOURISM