ABC islands are among the safest of the world

[DiverVince]

Hmmm, if a locked car signals to the perps that something valuable is inside then wouldn't the same logic apply to hotel rooms? Wouldn't a locked door signal something valuable is inside? If it is sound and reasonable advice to tell people to leave their cars UNLOCKED then why do you tell people to leave their rooms LOCKED?

No not really. I think this is fallacious logic. A stand alone car at a dive site where the occupants go into the water for 45 mins to an hour presents a whole host of different opportunities & much less of a risk perspective to the perp than trying to break into an apartment where others are.

For example, the apartment may be inhabited risking a confrontation with someone whom you know nothing about (perhaps an ex green beret for all you know). Or, it may have a hidden security system, camera. etc. to take pics of the perp. Additionally, is the risk of noise which may alert others in the area, again raising the probability of a confrontation (which no thief wants).

I really see no comparison with your analogy.There are many other variables to consider in burglarizing a residence than a car at a dive site. In order to beat a thief, it helps to think like one. And, if I were a thief, I would want to (as they say in corp America) pick the low lying fruit, if you get my drift.

 

[driftwood]

Driftwood, what do you suggest to make a positive change? I am not sure where you came to the conclusion that there is an attitude that crime is ok? If I communicated that, I did not mean to in fact. My bread and butter is tourism. I want my clients to come to the island and leave with breathtaking memories, not those of a petty theft. It is not ok on Bonaire or Cape Cod or NYC or Peoria. Crime is the same everywhere.

I don't think anyway feels it's ok to have crime in their community. In the 6 years I have lived in Bonaire I have seen a great community pull to make the island safe. I love the island. The marine park is incredible. The sanitation department comendable. I love the dining, the culture, the tranquilty..it's not a perfect place but it's my home.

The way New York was cleaned up was by focusing on the minor offenses. Turned out that they caught a lot of people who were committing more serious crimes. That change in attitude made a big difference to quality of life in the city.

A similar change in focus on petty theft will cut down on the number of burglaries on the island. I would bet good money that the same set of people are involved. The first change would be to stop the "keep the windows down" custom on the island. The current wisdom of limiting the damage that occurs during a theft is guaranteed to perpetuate the problem. With the current situation, a locked car is a big target for thieves. In a sea of locked cars it is harder for the thieves to find their target. Besides, a nice local ordinance with a small fine for leaving a vehicle with its windows down and unlocked would be a real money maker for Bonaire. Limit the scope of the ordinance to Kralendijk and the dive sites so that the locals will be minimally affected.

If Dutch law allows it, treat a vehicle break in the same as a home burglary. Also, with every conviction make the person pay for the damage caused and pay into a fund to mitigate other property loss. If you take the money out of crime, it drops like a stone.

Third, a few well publicized police stings will at least make the smart criminals be a lot more careful and you will catch a lot of dumb ones. Tough to set a trap at the southern dive sites, but at the northern sites it would be very simple.

Fourth, detail two officers with the specific task of patrolling the southern end of the island. If they keep the timing of the patrols (it has to be two vehicles to work) random and really look hard for people who would not ordinarily be strolling around. Four years ago, there was a guy walking his dog between the dive sites around Angel City in the middle of the afternoon. That is a person I would really want to talk to.

Fifth, randomly post an officer at Thousand Steps to monitor which vehicles go further north and another at Karpata to see who comes out. If there are any break ins during that period, you have a list of suspect vehicles and one very stupid thieve.

There are a lot of things that can be done. If you only get two arrests a week, at the end of the year, you will have a good portion of the people causing problems in the system. Seriously, on an island the size of Bonaire, less than 1000 people are causing 90% of the problems.

Bonaire does most things very well and on a couple of issues they are absolutely world class. Might be time to start thinking about changing the culture from limiting the damage from theft to making theft harder and less profitable.

 

[Just another Cinderella]

Bonaire does most things very well and on a couple of issues they are absolutely world class. Might be time to start thinking about changing the culture from limiting the damage from theft to making theft harder and less profitable.

________________

Couldn't agree more. It is changing the culture that is the real problem. Plus the fact that when one of the stake out officers catches his cousin [it is a small island] it will be a slap on the wrist. Bonaire is doing a beautiful job changing the mindset about their reefs, it would be great to see the theft issue change as well. Any way to gather all the posts and forward them to the tourist board??

 

[ReefHound]

What would the cost be to have a security guard stationed at the major sites? How many vehicles are rented daily? In other words, what would the "security fee" on the daily rental rate have to be to cover the security? I bet most tourists would gladly pay a few bucks per day to not have to worry about stuff getting stolen from their vehicles when shore diving.

 

[driftwood]

It seems that our Bonaire boosters have bailed on this thread. I guess what really gets to me about the whole "keep the windows down" thing is that it smacks of blaming a rape victim for the attack by dressing too sexy.

RH, I agree that most of us would gladly pay a few dollars a day for security guards at the dive sites.

 

[Warmwater Wank]

Hey, I've got it. Bonaire bashers can start your own island. You can run it like a police state, create your own culture and build lots of jails (a growth industry stateside, so it's a proven business model, yeah?). Just fund it by charging folks extra if they don't want to roll up their vehicle windows. Plenty of other simple answers in these threads about how to run an island RIGHT, so this oughta be a breeze. (Oh, just make sure it has great diving with the same dive freedom Bonaire has if you want many tourists.)

No one is "boosting" the island's petty crime but some folks sure want to make it seem like...well like Bonaire is New York City or something. (Oh wait, I hear NYC is all cleaned up now, I need a better example.) My wife never reads SB so I asked her today how she feels about "all the crime on Bonaire". She looked at me like I was narced. (Again.) We've spent 8 wks on the island over the last couple years and with simple precautions ( "When in Rome..." ) never had problems. It's why she gave me "the look". Jeez, maybe we've been going to an alternate Bonaire or something. I mean are we talking about the same place, the one down near Venezuela?

This planet's in sad shape: the ice caps are shrinking, oceans and reefs are dying, our species is over-populating like sand fleas on Roatan (gripe about them if you need a real cause...) but still, some folks have a need to micro-manage a great place. Fine. But you want a real problem to talk about, one that no one seems to have the guts to raise on SB about Bonaire? Well, so what's with those dinky bottles they use for Amstel and Polar beer, huh?? Let's have some discussion about that. // ww

 

[DiverVince]

It seems that our Bonaire boosters have bailed on this thread. I guess what really gets to me about the whole "keep the windows down" thing is that it smacks of blaming a rape victim for the attack by dressing too sexy.

RH, I agree that most of us would gladly pay a few dollars a day for security guards at the dive sites.

Seems to me some of you good folks really just don't get it. By what twisted logic can you make an analogy of keeping windows down; to blaming a rape victim of an attack for provocative dress does indeed escape me. I've been diving Bonaire for 25 years. I think I know a couple of things about it.

If you chose to do shore diving, just leave nothing of value in the car & leave your windows down. I even leave my doors open! If you have keys, just put 'em in your BC. Ditto with glasses. No one will touch your old towel or worn flip flops. Sunglasses? I have a ratty pair which no one has ever bothered in 15 years.

I for one would NOT want to pay more $$ for security guards. How about putting fences up on dive sites & then paying an entrance fee. Would you like that?

Really, just put any valuables in your room safe. Absolutely No reason to bring "valuables" to a dive site. If you think you need money, put a couple of 5 ANG coins in your BC. License? make a copy of your original & put it in your glove compartment. Don't want to do that? Well make a color copy & get it laminated & stick it in you BC. I truly suspect the authorities will never know the difference.

Really folks, this ain't brain surgery. Why some of you continue to lament over the fact of not being able to lock you vehicle and leave valuables in it at a dive site is really beyond me.

 

[DeputyDan]

Why don't we all go shore diving in Haiti Way out in the country with just locals around???

 

[fireflock]

How many of us, given a choice, would live in a neighborhood where you can't leave anything in your car unless it's old and not worth anything?

I wouldn't.

There are a lot of people who won't vacation in a place like that either.

I'm not sure why that's hard to understand......

 

[Just another Cinderella]

Darren,
I empathize greatly with you and am so sorry your great diving experience ended this way. I too was a victim of "Petty Crime" in Bonaire in Ocotober 2007. The first night I was there, traveling alone, I woke with a man in my room who then put a hand over my mouth and I don't remember anything until I woke in the morning and found my room had been ransacked and my door left wide open. All my credit cards and passport were left behind. I found my pocketbook and wallet-money taken- outside. The intruder climbed on a chair and in my window while I was sleeping. The police were called and responded about an hour or so later and were VERY rude to me. A day later 13 or so people were arrested for such crimes. (This happened 1 1/2 years ago NOT 2 1/2 years.) I went to the police station to look for my property and there was a large room FULL of phones, cameras, laptops, foreign money etc. My items were not there. I was helped by a WONDERFUL victims advocate who works with the police since I was traumatized by this experience. I do not publicize where this happened because I feel the owner was a victim as well. They were very helpful to me.
This experience has not kept me from going to Bonaire. I have returned a few more times and even bought timeshare there since. I LOVE Bonaire. The diving can not be beat! I am just more careful about my actions and bring nothing valuable that is not neccesary. On our last trip my husband's cell phone was stolen from the open truck while we dove. (Never lock your truck or they will break the windows) It was important to have it with us and we took that risk. ON this occassion the police were very nice but still nothing recovered.
I know there are folks who try to shush victims about the crime on Bonaire but it is important for travelers to be aware. Some locals suggested putting empty glass bottle on your window sills and in front of the door to alarm you of an intruder. I met many locals who have been victims of burglars on Bonaire. I am thankful to live in a very small town with very little crime and now I just make more adjustments for traveling.

=========================


Seems like more than petty crime. This was from a long series of posts a few months back on SB regarding the same topic. I am not trashing Bonaire, I would just like the local government to step up and try to resolve a problem that appears to be getting worse.