Be careful in Bonaire (Burglaries)

[ScubaSteve]

Guns are illegal on Bonaire, so security guards cannot carry guns.

Ya learn something new every day. Thanks for that tid-bit.

 

[Boat Chick]

I've read somewhere that Buddy's has guards at night. And BelMar has Butchie - or at least used to. He watches cars, gear lockers, patrols and helps people park at night. It's a really compressed property in a quiet area so probably all that's needed. He carries a knife, we used it to cut oranges open one night...

Or maybe it was limes...I could've been drinking that night.

Butchie is still at Belmar. He's been there for at least ten years. When you come to your unit in the evenings in addition to helping you park (parking is a pita there) he walks you to your unit. I got him a small pizza for him at Pasa Bon one evening when we were out (my treat). The porch light was also out in the unit I was in and had been for a few days (I'd reported it but it hadn't been replaced); he said he'd take care of it. The next day, it was fixed He is a GEM.

 

[mike_s]

Guns are illegal on Bonaire, so security guards cannot carry guns.

well robbery/burglary is illegal too. but that doesn't stop them.


Maybe if they armed some guards, it might cut down on some of the crime.

 

[BHB ScubaTroll]

As posted in response to questions on another thread...

--- Begin post ---
It is recommended that you leave nothing of value in your vehicle and leave the windows open. That is a pretty good indicator to possible thieves that there is nothing of value in the vehicle. If it is the rental vehicle that is stolen, you can be sure the rental company will have police looking for the vehicle.

No one has stated that having your room broken into and the safe cracked is common sense or even a common experience. Just like your home can be broken into, your vacation unit can be broken into... There are however, common sense rules that will help keep you and your gear safer. Things like (But, not limited to):

• keeping your gear in the designated areas recommended by the resort (not on a table or balcony) when not in use. I don't even keep mine in my driveway at home to dry in case someone should come by with sticky fingers
• Stay situationally aware of your surroundings (just like I do at home)
• Park in well lit areas at night and visible areas during daylight (just like I do at home)
• Travel as a couple or group at night and/or in areas where you are unfamiliar. You are in an area that is unfamiliar. When you are at home, you can readily avoid areas you know to be unsavory. It can be a little tricky when you don't know the area
• Lock your doors and windows when you leave your villa and at night when sleeping (This doesn't completely stop crime, just like it doesn't completely stop crime at home, but it is a deterrent)
• Just like any vacation spot, don't leave valuables, money or any expensive items out in the open... I don't trust the room staff at Holiday Inn in the US, so I certainly won't trust the house staff anywhere else.
• If you stop in an area and you are not comfortable, leave the area immediately (Just like at home)
• Another deterrent is to add those travel alarms for doors and windows to your vacation spot. I use them in the US as well as when travelling abroad.

I don't care where I go on vacation... I do some research and find the areas I want to visit and the areas I am sure I don't want to be stranded (Watts, areas of Washington DC, etc). To me, this includes housing in compound areas that offer a little (read that as "a little") more security

What I can't understand is where some people responding on this thread use these "common sense" measures at home to stay safer, but believe it is completely unrealistic to think anyone should do the same thing on Bonaire. OR, that authorities on Bonaire should be doing it ALL for everyone

Again, following these measures does not guarantee that your valuables, room and person will remain safe and unharmed. Just like at home, there are times when these measures don't work, and chit happens.

Reports of B/E and burglary seem less at home, but that is because we have a much larger violent crime issue here... Are these crimes minimized by me? No! They are not good, but I put them into some type of perspective with the norm of things (no, I don't call them normal... only in perspective of "the norm" of things). Some posts on this thread have given them no "norm" in the perspective of the world and blow them to proportions equivalent to "Manson murders", and I feel that is doing real harm to the discussion

--- End post ---

 

[ScubaSteve]

Yeah but CT, there are some people that will leave a laptop and $6000+ in camera equipment out in the open in their vehicle and feel that there is nothing wrong with that. They believe that common sense does not include taking appropriate measures to prevent a crime because the crime should never happen. I accept that this is THEIR opinion only. I believe (i.e. My opinion) that the only way to prevent a crime is to not tempt fate (i.e. leave anything where someone can get it if they wanted) and even this is not a guarantee. No matter where you are, no matter what precautions you take, there is always a chance that you will become a victim. FACT. Taking simple precautions and not whining about them reduces your chances of becoming a victim. FACT.

When I travel, at home OR around the world, I do not go anywhere with anything that I cannot carry if I need to. I will never lose touch with my camera equipment unless it is directly in front of me. My scuba gear is either locked up or I am very close by.

 

[pilot fish]

So I guess my point is that dismissing crime is foolish. It is a real deterrent to tourism and it costs the islands and people in the tourism industry real money. If there is a perception of higher than normal crime and appearance that nothing is being done about it, it hurts the tourism industry by forcing them to lower prices to attract visitors.

Indeed, it is. It also results in things never changing.

 

[pilot fish]

Uh, the island of about 14,000 has had 2 or 3 of murders in the last decade, one last year I think it was. Lower rate than the US, but not immune, but then neither is Cozumel - which I consider the safest island in the Caribbean, but had a quadruple hit last year.

Even if all burglaries that were committed with occupants asleep on premises were accomplished without personl injury, I still wouldn't consider that a safe situation. Exaggerations in discussions cause problems don't you think...?

That is also not petty crime, as some are foolishly and INCORRECTLY calling it.

 

[Mike]

I havent read through the entire post, but I do think crime and the perception of crime in Curacao and Bonaire are a problem. I spent a week in Curacao in January and had a great time. No theft, not problems. I would return. Actually I should say that I'd very much like to return for another vacation and I will recommend to friends.

However, the crime and petty theft is something that should be addressed. If nothing else, just some better PR by the tourism department would help. I debated booking our trip to Curacao because of it. Andreas and other SB members helped ease my concerns. But not everyone looking to go to these areas will seek further advice. They'll just read reports and figure, "well it's another Jamaica". Which is not the case.

The primary industry on Bonaire, and a major industry on Curacao is tourism. When a typical tourist (me) is booking a vacation they do take the crime into account. And the reality is that, whether it's perception or reality, areas with higher crime make less money. If Curacao had zero crime and Bonaire had some crime, Curacao would be able to charge more for rooms, diving, food etc. $200 a week for every room on the island is real money. And in my opinion that's easily within the range I'd would be willing to pay.

There may be just as much crime in the Caymans, but you don't hear about it and they capitalize on the perception of safety. It's the same reason you can go to Jamaica or the Dominican Republic for half the price. I've been to both and will not return to either. I didn't have problems in either place, but you'd be crazy to leave a car on a beach unprotected in either country, because they'd probably steal the car its self. In Jamaica I'd be very careful just going to a beach alone. They are a night and day difference from Curacao. Before visiting however, I questioned whether Curacao would be similar. And to some degree that was what I expected to find.

So I guess my point is that dismissing crime is foolish. It is a real deterrent to tourism and it costs the islands and people in the tourism industry real money. If there is a perception of higher than normal crime and appearance that nothing is being done about it, it hurts the tourism industry by forcing them to lower prices to attract visitors. There must be a balance between money spent for security and what that money returns in higher tourism. Ultimately from my perspective if either island made a security push with results the could compete against the other on that issue and increase revenue enough to cover the costs of the security.

Usually the way it works is when tourism is a countries major GNP, the infrastructure of the island functions as a result of the taxes levied on tourism directly and the fees and taxes levied indirectly on the islands population who gain their income directly from tourism.

When tourism declines the local governments coffers get reduced directly from the direct taxes and indirectly from the indirect taxes and fees on the the locals who stop spending money they don't have. Infrastructure begins to suffer, services begin to be cut. The locals cry out and demand the government does something. The government analyzes the problem and determines tourist visits are down and they must do something about it. They finally figure out it's a perception issue, in this case it's a perception of crime and safety. They finally work to alleviate the crime issue, they may then spend money on marketing the island to get over the bad image and try to return the island visits to normal.

The path to the resolution can come quicker if the local businesses band together and approach their government to inform them of the problem and make them aware of it and demand change so it never has to get as bad as it will.

 

[Indian Valley Scuba]

Nice story about the trucks being stolen, and the "special spray " the thieves used to make sure no one woke up! Do YOU (or anyone) know the guy was actually a police captain? Did you call the Bibb County Sheriff's Office? Has anyone called to verify who the story writer (or teller) was? Cause I just did, and guess what? There is no Neil Godbee there, and never was any Neil Godbee there. Amazing. Yet we are to believe this story? The first sentence starts off with an untruth...how does it get better from there?

 

[BHB ScubaTroll]

Usually the way it works is when tourism is a countries major GNP, the infrastructure of the island functions as a result of the taxes levied on tourism directly and the fees and taxes levied indirectly on the islands population who gain their income directly from tourism.

When tourism declines the local governments coffers get reduced directly from the direct taxes and indirectly from the indirect taxes and fees on the the locals who stop spending money they don't have. Infrastructure begins to suffer, services begin to be cut. The locals cry out and demand the government does something. The government analyzes the problem and determines tourist visits are down and they must do something about it. They finally figure out it's a perception issue, in this case it's a perception of crime and safety. They finally work to alleviate the crime issue, they may then spend money on marketing the island to get over the bad image and try to return the island visits to normal.

The path to the resolution can come quicker if the local businesses band together and approach their government to inform them of the problem and make them aware of it and demand change so it never has to get as bad as it will.

This is great in theory. When the parent government is 6,000 miles away... the theory begins to fall apart