High crime rate casts a shadow over Caribbean

JAMAICA - The InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB) has just released its most recent study on the impact of crime on the Caribbean, which is a reminder of the need to keep our eye on the ball in order to reduce crime, especially through improved economic well-being. The rather compelling findings from the study have special relevance to the region’s tourism industry which is, in nearly all cases, the most vibrant industry and the biggest earner of foreign exchange for these countries, as well as the most vulnerable to runaway crime.

In the study, based on a survey of 3,000 crime victims in each of five countries — The Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Jamaica, and Suriname — IDB finds that the soaring violent crime rate is higher than in Latin America or Africa, and among the highest in the world. “Nearly one in three (of those who participated in the survey) said they had lost someone to violence. Guns are used about twice as often in robbery and three times as often in assault in the Caribbean as compared with the global average,” the report says. This gives serious reason for pause. The average rate of victimisation by assault and threat (6.8 per cent) is higher than in any other region, including Latin America (4.7 per cent)” or Africa (5.2 per cent). The report states that almost half of all crimes go unreported to the police. The victims are mainly 18-to 25-year-olds who live in poor neighbourhoods far from the tourist resorts.

(Jamaican observer)