Increasing crime in Bonaire

[gypsyjim]

We return for maybe our 9th or 10th time on Bonaire in late July. I have been following these discussions about "crime on Bonaire" both here on SB and elsewhere for some time now.

It does seem that there has been a bit more violent crime in the recent past, but the island has also imported police officers from off island, and installed a new head of police force to combat the crime.

This increase in violent crime seems to be occurring throughout the Caribbean from Cozumel to VI

from: Caribbean Crime Statistics - Caribbean Murder, Property Crime Rates
Violence is far more prevalent in some Caribbean nations than others, although even in the most troubled countries, violent crime rarely touches tourists. On the other hand, experts note, visitors are often more likely than locals to be victims of property crimes, and often are specifically targeted in locations known to be frequented by tourists.
Crime can happen anywhere, and there are no guarantees. However, experience and statistics indicate that the following nations are among the most secure in the Caribbean region:

• Montserrat
• The Cayman Islands
• St. Barts
• British Virgin Islands
• Bonaire
• Dominica

and:
Property crime has been increasing in the Caribbean in recent years, and experts say that the increase has been most pronounced in highly developed tourist destinations, including the Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI).


What I take from all of my reading is that petty theft remains the main threat to us when visiting any of the Caribbean islands, and Bonaire has always had a fairly small, but recurring problem, due to so many divers parking at remote sites, where their trucks are left alone for up to an hour or more at a time.

Violent crime is of course a possibility here, as anywhere, but there is really very little chance of it involving any but the most fool hardy, unobservant tourist, who does not pay attention to both the warnings or to their surroundings. This is just as true on Bonaire, as on the streets here at home.

 

[Hintermann]

If you let fear of it cripple you, its your loss. That said, I have been to LCBR a few times and it's a wonderful place! Enjoy your time there.

I am certainly nor scared of going to Bonaire; for example, Honduras is still very much in my itinerary and it has a much larger crime problem, even in the relatively better Bay Islands. But the problem is that you cannot do in Bonaire what you can in most other places;to a large extent separate the diving and crime atmosphere. The thing that struck me with Bonaire was that most diving is from the shore and to get the best out of that one has to rent a truck. That leaves the truck open for break-ins, thus prompting the oft mentioned 'take only what you need' advice. I am mainly a liveaboard diver and enjoy the easy, relaxed atmosphere on a boat where you do not have to lug your kit to the jetty or truck or wherever you are going and then at the end of the day repeat the process. That is the problem I have found with the few resorts that I have been to. In Bonaire there is the added hassle of the silly induction course, truck rental and so forth - things that I can do without. If the diving in Bonaire offered something extraordinary I could understand it but clearly it does not. Nice climate, great coral and lots of fish - but you get that in several other places around the world. I have dived in the Red Sea, Maldives, Phuket, Sipadan, Turks & Caicos etc and have Fiji, Bali/Komodo & Raja Ampat booked before May 2015. Frankly, I don't think I am going to see anything better in Bonaire than those places. I would still have gone if it were not for all those other add-on annoyances that I mentioned and those I certainly can do without. It may all be a part of the fun to some people but to me it isn't and so I made the decision to remove Bonaire from my diving schedule. It is entirely personal and not meant as a statement to influence others.

 

[gypsyjim]

On Bonaire there are no sites that you cannot dive from a boat, if that is your choice.
The shore diving gives a diver a lot of flexibility, to go their own way, on their own schedule. And save $$ doing so.

Some do all boat diving with their resort, much as on other islands.

 

[Kharon]

For some perspective. My brother was advised not to bring his boat up and dock it because people were clipping the locks and stealing motors. Where? Saratoga Lake, NY. The economy sucks worldwide and is driving property crime up everywhere.

 

[gypsyjim]

As for the hour or so that you spend being "oriented".....it's a pretty easy, low key thing.

I saw divers walk away from the diving several time on T&C, simply because the op insisted that all divers do a quick demo of skills.
I would rather take a few minutes of my time to show that I am a safe diver, than find myself in the water on a dive, with a person who should NOT be in the water, no matter WHAT their C card says.

 

[uncfnp]

I am certainly nor scared of going to Bonaire; for example, Honduras is still very much in my itinerary and it has a much larger crime problem, even in the relatively better Bay Islands. But the problem is that you cannot do in Bonaire what you can in most other places;to a large extent separate the diving and crime atmosphere. The thing that struck me with Bonaire was that most diving is from the shore and to get the best out of that one has to rent a truck. That leaves the truck open for break-ins, thus prompting the oft mentioned 'take only what you need' advice. I am mainly a liveaboard diver and enjoy the easy, relaxed atmosphere on a boat where you do not have to lug your kit to the jetty or truck or wherever you are going and then at the end of the day repeat the process. That is the problem I have found with the few resorts that I have been to. In Bonaire there is the added hassle of the silly induction course, truck rental and so forth - things that I can do without. If the diving in Bonaire offered something extraordinary I could understand it but clearly it does not. Nice climate, great coral and lots of fish - but you get that in several other places around the world. I have dived in the Red Sea, Maldives, Phuket, Sipadan, Turks & Caicos etc and have Fiji, Bali/Komodo & Raja Ampat booked before May 2015. Frankly, I don't think I am going to see anything better in Bonaire than those places. I would still have gone if it were not for all those other add-on annoyances that I mentioned and those I certainly can do without. It may all be a part of the fun to some people but to me it isn't and so I made the decision to remove Bonaire from my diving schedule. It is entirely personal and not meant as a statement to influence others.

Hintermann. I absolutely agree with your decision to cancel Bonaire. I got that feeling many posts back. I think your diving/vacation style and Bonaire are not a good match. This is not a slam to you or Bonaire, just my assessment of what you are looking for in your dive vacations.

 

[Lorenzoid]

. . . In Bonaire there is the added hassle of the silly induction course, truck rental and so forth - things that I can do without.

By "induction course" do you mean the checkout dive? My experience with the checkout dive is the dive op says go jump in off our dock and see if you've got your weighting correct. And that's all. Oh, and before you jump in they explain that it's a marine park, etc. I would hardly call that five minutes a "course."

As for truck rental, we get picked up at the airport, brought to the hotel, and our truck is there waiting for us. What could be easier? I suppose if you hate driving and/or "lugging" your gear from the truck down to the water, it could be a hassle. It isn't for everyone. The ubiquitous pickup truck is an iconic part of the Bonaire dive culture.

If the diving in Bonaire offered something extraordinary I could understand it but clearly it does not.

Some of the best shore diving in the world? I had never shore dived until my first trip to Bonaire. I had some trepidation, but now I love it. The entire island is set up for shore diving. There are maps that show where along the road each dive site is located. The book Bonaire Shore Diving Made Easy provides a description for each site and tips for making the most of the dive. Each dive site is neatly marked with a painted stone by the side of the main road, and you simply turn off there and park the truck. Buddy Dive has a drive-through tank station! I find the whole thing to be a lot of fun, and different from anywhere else I have dived.

 

[Pullmyfinger]

As for the hour or so that you spend being "oriented".....it's a pretty easy, low key thing.

I saw divers walk away from the diving several time on T&C, simply because the op insisted that all divers do a quick demo of skills.
I would rather take a few minutes of my time to show that I am a safe diver, than find myself in the water on a dive, with a person who should NOT be in the water, no matter WHAT their C card says.

Haha! They probably knew they were going to be called out!:laughing:

 

[wwguy]

I am certainly nor scared of going to Bonaire;

Neither are my wife and I, which is why we return to dushi Bonaire year after year.

But the problem is that you cannot do in Bonaire what you can in most other places;to a large extent separate the diving and crime atmosphere.

I respectfully disagree. We're drawn to Bonaire again and again because of all the things we CAN do that we haven't been able to do in other places. Self-paced self-supervised shore diving at 100 or so named and unnamed dive sites are at the top of that list. The majority of island residents are warm friendly people and we're happy to count some of them among our friends. We've visited Bonaire 10 times in the last 16 years and have been returning annually for 3 week stays since 2009. We dive exclusively from shore from our rental truck, follow rental truck "best practices", and have never been pilfered. It may happen someday, but all they'll get are cheap flip flops and some ratty old beach clothes. That's a small price to pay for the great experiences we've had diving Bonaire and I'd willingly pay it in advance if I could.

As far as risk of robbery and other theft, we'll continue to follow the same precautions and behaviors we use at home. I.e. select a secure property in an established well-lit neighborhood, keep doors and windows locked, interact with neighbors, keep valuables in a secure location, etc. (This is a great place to make another gratuitous plug for staying at Beachcomber Villas, where the friendly and vigilant owners reside on-site.) Frankly my greatest security concern about visiting Bonaire is leaving my home in the US unattended for 3 weeks.

It may all be a part of the fun to some people but to me it isn't and so I made the decision to remove Bonaire from my diving schedule. It is entirely personal and not meant as a statement to influence others.

No offense taken. I shared the the link to the police webpage in the previous post. As I said then, everyone should read the facts for themselves and make up their own minds. I hope you enjoy your trip (wherever you end up going) because that's the whole point of a dive vacation. As for us, We're looking forward to 2 more trips to beautiful Bonaire before the end of this year.

 

[Hintermann]

Hintermann. I absolutely agree with your decision to cancel Bonaire. I got that feeling many posts back. I think your diving/vacation style and Bonaire are not a good match. This is not a slam to you or Bonaire, just my assessment of what you are looking for in your dive vacations.

Extremely well said and thank you. You are very perceptive and completely correct. I have been to Cozumel twice and while I enjoted the diving there a lot, detested the laborious process of getting to the dive site and back. Same with Malta & Gozo, the only other entirely resort diving holiday I have done.
An even better example would be my 2011 (seond) trip to Phuket. Did a week's liveaboard and loved it. Then did 3 days of resort based diving and although on average those dive sites were even better (including a great unexpected drift dive at Racha Yai), I hated the logistics of getting there and back. Having been on 14 liveaboard cruises and enjoyed every one of them, I'll largely stick to that.

So each to his or her own but I'd like to say one thing. Several times during my numerous liveaboard cruises I have met people - experienced divers but on their first liveaboard trip. Almost without exception they have commented how much more convenient and relaxed liveaboard diving is by comparison with land based diving. Yes, you may not have the discos to go to in the evening but there is so much relaxing time between dives that one of them commenetd that it felt like two vacations rolled into one.