Providenciales, Sept. 10 -- Until just a few years ago, the Turks and Caicos Islands, known predominantly as a luxury Caribbean tourist destination, were frequented by the globe's most affluent travellers who were drawn to the startling beauty of the archipelago to explore the world's best beaches.
But alarming levels of violent crime have rocked the once sleepy British Overseas Territory, earning it accolades it welcomes far less.
Last year it recorded 48 homicides, which, given its population is less than 50,000, gave it the worst murder rate per capita in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to one study, cited in its report by BBC.
This year the territory had already recorded 24 killings up to mid-August, heightened by the firs...