British Tourists flock to Jamaica, where they tend to stay in fenced in tourist hotels that are off limits to most locals. Now they being told to stay in their rooms.
The reason: sky-high murder rates and a recent spate of killings.
British holidaymakers in Jamaica have been told to stay in their resorts by the Foreign Office after a state of emergency was declared following a series of shootings.
Troops have been put on the streets following the killings in Montego Bay, which is popular with tourists.
It follows a series of shootings including a driveby shooting which killed one person, and the shooting of another four times on a roundabout near to the main airport Sansgster international on Tuesday.
The country's Prime Minister issued a State of Emergency and put security services and troops on the street to tackle the gunmen after a record 335 murders last year in the area.
He has now ordered a massive house-to-house search in the St. John's area for the gunmen and tourists are being tole to stay in their hotel rooms.
The 2017 murder rate for Jamaica was 42.6 per 100,000 population, one of the highest in the world. It is not as high as Baltimore, Maryland, where the rate reached 55.8 in 2017. Many attribute the Baltimore murder rate to a lack of police presence. Police drastically reduced their activities after several officers were charged in the 2015 death of Freddie Gray. The officers were eventually found not guilty of all charges.
In the article in the Mirror, this excuse is given: