Howard Campbell, Gleaner Writer

This bullet-riddled police radio car with smashed windows sits in a parking lot after gunmen sprayed the vehicle in Salt Spring, St. James, on December 3. Three constables were shot and injured in the attack. - Noel Thompson/Freelance Photographer

HOURS after Tourism Minister Aloun Assamba gave a positive projection for the 2006-07 winter tourist season at a function in Montego Bay last Thursday, a triple murder rattled the parish which traditionally hosts most visitors during the winter tourist season which began December 15 and ends in April.

Police said the three men were killed in the community of Flankers by men wearing bullet-proof vests. Such brutal incidents have become synonymous with St. James.

Montego Bay, the parish capital, is still regarded as Jamaica's tourism mecca. This year, St. James has developed a reputation of being one of the most violent places in the country.

To date this year, approximately 178 persons have been murdered in St. James way past the 139 homicides recorded there in 2005.

Police blotters

Communities such as Salt Spring, Granville and Glendevon have figured prominently on police blotters this year. Several shocking night-time and early-morning murders have taken place in those communities. On December 3 when three police constables were shot.

"Crime is a concern for everybody, but it's important to point out that Jamaica has the lowest crimes against tourists in the Caribbean," Horace Peterkin, president of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA), told The Gleaner yesterday. "But there are things happening behind the scene with the JHTA and tourism interests to guarantee safety for visitors."

Mr. Peterkin said he is wary of the negative impact bad press can have on tourism (just last week BBC aired a story on the the country's murder rate), Jamaica's highest earner of foreign exchange last year with over US$1.5 billion. The Jamaica Tourist Board disclosed that just under one million tourists came to Jamaica for the 2004-05 winter season; the figure topped the million mark in 2005-06.

According to Mr. Peterkin, Montego Bay welcomed the "lion's share" of those visitors. He said despite the violence in St. James, the city is in-line to remain popular with tourists.

"We are coming off a very, very strong year," he said. "We had a 15 per cent increase (in visitors) last year, and with Cricket World Cup coming up we expect those figures to rise."

Montego Bay has suffered already this year from bad press. In August, Brian Johnston, a 27-year-old Australian, was found murdered in his room at the Gloustershire Hotel; a 31-year-old St. James man was charged for his murder last month.

The Government and police have made major efforts to clamp down on crime in St. James. In November, Mrs. Assamba announced plans to set up surveillance cameras throughout the city, as well as Ocho Rios and Knutsford Boulevard in New Kingston.

Also last month, several high-profile figures addressed the crime problem in St. James.

Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, Dr. Peter Phillips, the Minister of National Security, Commissioner of Police Lucius Thomas, and Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mark Shields visited the parish on separate occasions.

Elite unit

Dr. Phillips trekked to the west days after 43-year-old Lyris Ellis-Johnson and her three children were murdered in the district of Retirement. He said Operation Kingfish, the elite unit assigned to net drug traffickers and dons, would be assigned to monitor criminal activity in St. James.

Dr. Phillips also called for greater support by citizens for the police.

Less than one week after the minister's visit, the constables were shot and injured.

Horace Peterkin is a senior manager at Sandals Montego Bay which is involved with improving conditions in Flankers, which is a hop and skip away from the all-inclusive resort. He believes the strides that have been made there can be a blueprint for similar areas in St. James.