Last year, Saint Lucia had a per capita murder rate of around 24 per 100,000, putting it on a par with one of America’s most deadly cities, Chicago. The high incidence of homicides and other violent crimes isn’t just bad for citizens, communities and society at large, it’s also bad for business.
Crime and violence costs the Caribbean around 3 per cent of its entire GDP, according to a 2017 study from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), as it erodes business, economic growth, tourism, emigration and citizen security.
Tourism Fears
Tourism is Saint Lucia’s number one industry, generating jobs, investment and economic growth. And nothing kills the tourist trade faster than crime. All Caribbean destinations are competing for business from sun-seekers and, in this heavily competitive landscape, reputation matters.
When British expat Robert Hathaway was murdered in his Grand Riviere home in January, the case made news around the world; the UK’s Telegraph went to press with the damaging headline ‘Murder in Paradise’. The brutal slaying, and the fact that it remains unsolved, generated columns in international media that all pointed to the same conclusion: Saint Lucia is a dangerous place for foreigners. It wasn’t the first time such a case received worldwide attention. The 2014 murder of British tourist Roger Pratt also captivated the British media, and, like the Hathaway case, the killer has not yet been brought to justice.
In 2014, Saint Lucia received a dubious honour. The country was included in the list of Top 10 Most Dangerous Cruise Destinations in the World, compiled by influential blog Cruise Law News. Explaining Saint Lucia’s inclusion, writer and lawyer Jim Walker cited several instances including the 2013 armed robbery of 55 cruise ship passengers in Soufriere and the 14 cruisers and their tour guides held up at gunpoint and knifepoint in 2009 in Anse-La-Raye. The situation became so concerning that cruise lines held crisis talks and, in 2010, Norwegian Cruise Lines took the drastic step of scrubbing Saint Lucia completely from its 2010-2012 Caribbean schedule.
More recently, two German cruise ship passengers were attacked in a botched robbery last January. The incident, which took place near the Castries cruise port, followed several accounts of muggings at tourist hotspot Sir George William Mallet Serenity Park. Of course tourists are less likely to be victims of crime than Saint Lucians themselves, who bear the brunt of the escalating violence, but when it comes to visitors, perceived risks are just as harmful to the industry as legitimate concerns. In the internet age, bad news travels quicker than ever, often accompanied by salacious headlines and damaging images.
A cruise ship passenger assaulted and robbed in Castries is likely to post on social media about the experience, tell friends of the trauma they endured and dissuade others from taking a trip to the island. And it’s not just Saint Lucia in the crosshairs. In the battle for public opinion, every Caribbean nation is under scrutiny. The stigmatisation of the entire region impacts every destination’s tourism industry.
Bad for Business
Crime isn’t just bad for tourism, its negative effects are felt throughout the entire economy. The IDB estimates that if Saint Lucia can bring its homicide rate down to at least the world average, the country could grow its GDP by 1.6 per cent. From the struggling small business owner whose premises are robbed or vandalised to the foreign investor who researches Saint Lucia’s crime stats and takes his money elsewhere, an unsafe environment is one that economically contracts rather than expands.
In 2014, 84 per cent of Caribbean businesses said crime was a serious obstacle to their growth, according to the IDB, and in Saint Lucia just over 20 per cent reported losses from theft, robbery, vandalism or arson. Business-owners operating in a high-crime environment have to worry not just about loss of inventory or profits, but also the cost of security, both of which can ravage their bottom line.
In developing countries, where FDI has a vital role to play in a nation’s development, crime is a significant deterrent to foreign investment. As with tourism, pockets of high crime in the region can turn away potential investors from the entire Caribbean. Researchers at the University of Texas term this the ‘geographic halo effect’ — high levels of violent crime in specific locations lead foreigners to broadly categorise the whole country, region or area as dangerous. This has been seen in Latin America as unstable states bring down FDI for the entire area, and it’s now becoming an issue in the Caribbean as nations struggle to reduce their homicide rates.
Contributors to crime
Many commentators, academics and experts have weighed in on the causes of crime, and why violence seems to be endemic to the Caribbean region. These discussions usually zero in on four key factors: poverty, inadequate education, poor mental health and institutional weaknesses.
In Saint Lucia, the latter has been particularly problematic as inefficiencies in the judicial system have resulted in failed prosecutions, long delays before trials and a penal system that barely functions. Indeed, the Castries courts have only recently reopened following a nine-month delay while the government scraped together funds to renovate the courthouse. The prime minister has said he is focusing on strengthening the police force and justice system but many wonder just how long that effort will take to deliver tangible benefits and improve safety in a measureable way.
Any discussion about crime must involve a discussion about the region’s young people who are more likely to be both the victims and the perpetrators of violent crime. Government and school initiatives to identify at-risk youth, parenting support and social skills programmes all have a role to play in dissuading young people from gang violence and other antisocial behaviours. A recent IDB study discovered that Saint Lucia’s young people exceed the regional average in terms of their likelihood to engage in fighting, drinking and drug use. While these activities do not necessarily lead to a life of crime, they certainly contribute.
One often-overlooked aspect of the fight against crime is the relatively simple and practical steps that can be taken to mitigate risks. Situational crime prevention involves tweaking the landscape and urban design to make crime more difficult. This can involve better street lighting, more CCTV cameras and more visible open areas, ie reducing opportunities for criminals to target victims.
Crime is a complex problem, with complex solutions that involve every level of society from government down to communities and families. Prime Minister Chastanet referred to this shared responsibility recently as Saint Lucia celebrated its 40th anniversary of Independence, saying: “Together as one nation, we have achieved much. But we must admit there have been times when it seemed we had lost sight of our goals, our aspirations. Only by standing together in pursuit of a common cause; only by holding on to our faith in ourselves, in our values, will we find the strength to take care of our country. “It will take a united effort between Government and all Saint Lucians to guarantee safety and security for all.”
