On January 23, the United States issued a level 3 travel alert for Jamaica. The reason? The rising crime wave in the region, with as many as 65 murders in just four weeks.
This, among other reasons, caused the Department of State to raise the travel alert to level 3 due to its "crime and medical services," as can be read in the alert published by the agency on its website, which it also warns that "violent crimes, such as home invasions, armed robberies, sexual assaults, and homicides, are common." Along with this, the agency assures that "sexual assaults occur frequently, including at all-inclusive resorts."
The United States Department of State is especially concerned about the fact that the Police in Jamaica "do not respond effectively" when a crime occurs. According to the agency, relatives of Americans wait up to a year to obtain a death certificate:
Local police often do not respond effectively to serious criminal incidents. When arrests are made, cases are infrequently prosecuted to a conclusive sentence. Families of U.S. citizens killed in accidents or homicides frequently wait a year or more for final death certificates to be issued by Jamaican authorities. The homicide rate reported by the Government of Jamaica has for several years been among the highest in the Western Hemisphere. U.S. government personnel under COM security responsibility are prohibited from traveling to the areas listed below, from using public buses, and from driving outside of prescribed areas of Kingston at night.
Poor hospital care in Jamaica
The State Department also expressed concern about the poor health care provided by Jamaica. As can be read in the travel alert, public hospitals are "under-resourced" and ambulances, on many occasions, do not arrive in time to care for patients who need it:
Emergency services and hospital care vary throughout the island, and response times and quality of care may vary from U.S. standards. Public hospitals are under-resourced and cannot always provide high level or specialized care. Private hospitals require payment up front before admitting patients and may not have the ability to provide specialized care. Ambulance services are not always readily available, especially in rural areas, and are not always staffed by trained personnel.
All of this led the agency to recommend that Americans not travel to Jamaica. And, if you do so, the State Department says, they recommend traveling by first obtaining "traveler’s insurance, including medical evacuation insurance," since, the agency warns, "the Department of State does not pay medical bills."
