Bonaire Crime - Our experience - Looking for input to share

[oldschoolto]

But we do bring a shirt, cold water, snacks... Towels... Leave it out and not in a bag... It's not brainwashing... It's common sense... Don't bring anything that will cause you grief if it's stolen... My wife brings her big a$$ $3 sun hat she got at the Chinese store in town... If it's stolen, Big deal... I bring my pack of smokes and a book of matches... If they are gone, Well big deal...

Jim...

 

[KathyV]

But we do bring a shirt, cold water, snacks... Towels... Leave it out and not in a bag... It's not brainwashing... It's common sense... Don't bring anything that will cause you grief if it's stolen... My wife brings her big a$$ $3 sun hat she got at the Chinese store in town... If it's stolen, Big deal... I bring my pack of smokes and a book of matches... If they are gone, Well big deal... Jim...

You seem to relish the opportunity to be victimized, even if only in a small way, so perhaps you will have the experience you apparently are looking for!

 

[salth2owannabe]

The problem I have with the theft at dive sites, besides being inconvenient, is that it could be very easily addressed with a little bit of effort. It gets back to the complacency of the law enforcement on Bonaire and the lack of concern for crime on tourists. If they gave a $h%t they could deal with it and it would be the exception rather than the norm. I still think you are foolish if you leave anything valuable in a vehicle no matter where you are.
We have a rash of smash and grabs start up on green belt parking lots here in town. A few remote cameras, a little plain clothes work and info from a couple of informants and the schmuck is caught in a week or two. They actually catch a couple of these guys, and heaven forbid prosecute them, and we wouldn't be talking about this like it's common place.
I was talking to a guy in Rincon who had some stuff stolen. He mentioned it to a few guys in town and shortly they returned and told him they "thought they knew" who did it and he could expect his stuff back within the hour. It was promptly returned. How hard do you think it is on a small island to figure out who's doing the dive site thefts?

 

[mmmbelows]

But we do bring a shirt, cold water, snacks... Towels... Leave it out and not in a bag... It's not brainwashing... It's common sense... Don't bring anything that will cause you grief if it's stolen... My wife brings her big a$$ $3 sun hat she got at the Chinese store in town... If it's stolen, Big deal... I bring my pack of smokes and a book of matches... If they are gone, Well big deal...

Jim...

The desperation to defend theft no matter how disjointed the logic grows is amusing.

 

[scubadada]

Bonaire should aspire to something better

 

[oldschoolto]

I'm so done with this thread...You can't talk to people that just want to argue ... Please keep diving at this utopia dive spot you have, BUT will not share with the rest of us...

Jim....

 

[drrich2]

"They actually catch a couple of these guys, and heaven forbid prosecute them, and we wouldn't be talking about this like it's common place."

And do what with them? Fine poor people with nothing to take? Put them in prisons that have no beds? Give them criminal conviction records that may keep them from honest jobs, encouraging escalating criminal involvement? All this, and when word got out police were doing this, more tourists would leave more stuff in locked trucks, providing more incentive for criminals to act.

If police want to pick up their law enforcement game, how about starting with the home invasion/burglaries?

I haven't seen anybody defend theft; some just accept the practical requirements of working around the realities of the situation.

It's like if I want to go photograph a foreign landmark where pick pocketing is really bad. I can gripe about how wrong pick pocketing is, or take strong measures to prevent myself from being vulnerable to it and go get that photo.

Richard.

 

[Skeptic14]

I don't get it... why would anyone be against trying to eliminate, minimize crime no matter how "petty".

Ignoring crime leads to escalation which it sounds like is what is now happening, the OP was about 3 home invasions not a t shirt or flip flops stolen from a truck at a dive site.

Baffling...

 

[Skeptic14]

It's like if I want to go photograph a foreign landmark where pick pocketing is really bad. I can gripe about how wrong pick pocketing is, or take strong measures to prevent myself from being vulnerable to it and go get that photo.

Richard.

Sure, minimizing your personal susceptibility of becoming a victim is smart... but the attitude of "this is how it is" and "it's really a benefit to you" regarding not locking a rental isn't helpful but instead could be just the attitude to foster escalation of crime.

And that analogy doesn't hold for the home invasions...

 

[mmmbelows]

"They actually catch a couple of these guys, and heaven forbid prosecute them, and we wouldn't be talking about this like it's common place."

And do what with them? Fine poor people with nothing to take? Put them in prisons that have no beds? Give them criminal conviction records that may keep them from honest jobs, encouraging escalating criminal involvement? All this, and when word got out police were doing this, more tourists would leave more stuff in locked trucks, providing more incentive for criminals to act.

If police want to pick up their law enforcement game, how about starting with the home invasion/burglaries?

I haven't seen anybody defend theft; some just accept the practical requirements of working around the realities of the situation.

It's like if I want to go photograph a foreign landmark where pick pocketing is really bad. I can gripe about how wrong pick pocketing is, or take strong measures to prevent myself from being vulnerable to it and go get that photo.

Richard.

It's hard for people who live life as victims to understand that there are others who simply refuse to do so.

Victims cope, rationalize and accept smaller and smaller personal freedoms, they start to celebrate their ability to swallow a tea spoon of feces every morning, "it's not so bad, you get used to it, could be worse, at least it's not a tablespoon."

Others believe in proactive changes for the better, even though it does mean accepting the more difficult path, because they already know what the victims don't know, that the teaspoon will increase to tablespoon, that is guaranteed.