"I saw guys hanging out on the road that I had not seen before, these were not the locals we all knew."
Yes indeed LeeAnne. I know VERY well what you are talking about there.
As far as the "ghetto" (as my J'can friends call the capture land behind SeaStar Lane and Sommerset Lane) I know people that have been living there for 25+ years. I'm not doubting some of the "new bad guys" are there as well - but the day the government comes in an raises that neighborhood there will be holy hell to pay on the streets of Negril.
I don't know the answer. The JLP had managed to significantly reduce crime - but to also put out on the street a "special" police force that killed Sonnieko Williams and Mickey Hill (Mickey's killer was free on bail last I'd heard). Now they are out - PNP is in...meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
Having been in Negril during the days that it was TRULY the wild wild west - I too know the risks in going there, have learned to keep my head low...I don't know maybe its part of the "allure" that sense of danger. Hey, where I live there the cops would not even come out that way a few years back. (Now they have to - big resort a couple of doors down now.)
I have friends whose homes were invaded, friends robbed at gunpoint - I have friends that have been murdered there as well. I still go, I still live and breathe there...and I still hope change mus' come.