Are Black men safer in the United States than in Jamaica?

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With American police murdering innocent Black men on a regular basis and the ensuing retaliation on July 7, by Micah Xavier Johnson, The Bahamas Government issued a travel advisory warning to its citizens, telling them to be careful when travelling to the United States.

Barbados also follow suit warning its citizens to be careful when travelling in the United States.

With both the Bahamas and Barbados issuing travel warnings, many were wondering if Jamaica would do the same. However, Jamaica’s opposition spokesman on foreign affairs, Dr. Morais Guy, says it is not necessary for Jamaica to issue one at this time.

Why does Barbados and The Bahamas feel it is necessary for a travel advisory while Jamaican feels it is not? Could it be that the situation in the United States as bad as it is, is not as bad as Jamaica?

In 2015, 102 civilians were killed by police, a country with a population of 2.8 million people. In the United States, 1186 people were killed by the police in 2015. The U.S. has a population of 320 million. So while the U.S. population is over 100 times larger than Jamaica, their civilians killed by police are just over ten times the rate of those killed in Jamaica.

So a civilian is about 10 times more likely to be killed by the police in Jamaica than they are in the United States. That might be the reason; Jamaica is not issuing a travel advisory like Barbados and the Bahamas.

Jamaica desperately needs a Black Lives Matter Movement, however.

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