Garwin Davis, Staff ReporterWESTERN BUREAU:
VISITORS TO the island are prone to making false reports to the police and Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) officials about being robbed, often costing local workers their jobs and reputation.
Local officials, including hoteliers, theorise that the country's reliance on the tourism industry is so well known that unscrupulous tourists see countries like Jamaica as easy pickings.
"It happens all the time," said Iva Walters, JTB's Regional Manager for Ocho Rios. "Only last week, we had a German visitor coming to the office and reporting that someone had snatched her purse containing US$500 while at the beach and that she was in dire straits.
"We advised her to go to the police to make a report, which she promised to do. Not only did she not make the report but also we haven't seen her since. This has become a pattern for some visitors to make false robbery claims with the hope that the JTB will reimburse them."
Ms. Walters said there have also been instances where visitors staying at hotels steal from each other and the blame is often placed on innocent, unsuspecting workers.
"There are times when a tourist will see a room door open and seize that window of opportunity to rob his fellow guest," Ms. Walters said.
"It would then leave the impression that the robbery is committed by the hotel staff who at times will not get the benefit of the doubt. If this is looked at in its proper context, that worker who is assigned to cleaning the room would have had to be incredibly stupid to commit such an act knowing fully well that he/she stood a pretty good chance of being caught."
Ms. Walters noted that each individual case had its own merit and dismissed as false the notion that the JTB reimbursed money to visitors who make robbery claims.
"The idea that we are in the habit of just randomly giving out money is totally untrue," she said. "I mean, there are indeed legitimate claims where we assist in whatever manner we can. If someone has to get to the airport or has to be somewhere important after having been inconvenienced, we try to do what we can."
Leon Gordon, chairman of the St. Ann Development Company (SADCo), which handles operations at the popular Dunn's River Falls, said although the situation was not prevalent at the attraction, there have been instances of tourists making false reports about being robbed.
"Back in April, there was a case of a woman claiming that her car was broken into and that several items were stolen. It so happened that when we spoke with her son who was supposedly with her, separately, their stories didn't coincide. We knew then that something was wrong."
Mr. Gordon explained that a thorough investigation takes place if a guest makes an accusation against a staff member. A grievance procedure regarding a collective bargaining agreement would follow and proper action, if any, would then apply, he said.
"If the accusation is true, we wouldn't want to have a crook working for us," Mr. Gordon said. "The only way we can get to the truth, though, is to give that person a fair hearing."
Vice president of human resources at the Super Clubs chain of hotels Dr. Errol Holmes said his employees are always given a fair hearing when complaints are lodged against them.
"For us, it is a two way street," he said. "If an employee seriously violates our company policy then that person's employment is terminated. Likewise, if a guest is bent on creating mischief that we consider detrimental to our operations, then that person is placed on the first plane out."
For some workers, though, the dishonesty of guests can at times have serious consequences. Last week an employee was fired from a prominent north coast hotel because he was accused by a guest of making unwanted sexual advance. The employee, denied the charges and complained that he was dismissed solely on the word of his accuser.
In another case several years ago two British nationals reported being robbed and beaten on Main Street Ocho Rios by resort patrol officers. They were given some level of compensation by the hotel where they were staying and gained the sympathy of residents.
Subsequently the Ocho Rios police concluded that they were lying and were in fact cocaine users, who concocted the story after their money had ran out. Superintendent Samuel Campbell, in charge of the case at the time, summed it up by saying that the story was just too incredible to be true. The two visitors quickly left the island before they could be charged with public mischief.
Another worker, last week, lost his job not because he violated company policy regarding guest/staff relations. It's alleged that he and a female visitor had sex on the beach while her husband had passed out in his room after a drinking binge.
It's reported that the following morning she told her husband that she was raped after he questioned her about the strange marks on her body. The hotel management , after comparing both stories, found enough inconsistencies in the woman's version to exonerate the worker. However, he was fired for having sex with a guest.
Corporal Dennis Salmon of the Ocho Rios Police Station explained that visitors who are found to create public mischief are fined or locked up because it is a criminal offence.
