Bonaire Crime - Our experience - Looking for input to share

[darook]

I've been to Bonaire 32 times over 20 years. The only dive gear I've had stolen was from the old Lake Rawlings, now Lake Phoenix, near Richmond VA. I reported it to the sheriff, and was then banned by the manager from returning to Rawlings for having embarrassed the facility.

That is harsh! Sounds like some something a tinpot dictatorship would do.

 

[Joneill]

On how many other islands is it safe to hop in a pickup and drive around wherever you want? I grew up in Detroit so I guess I'm used to burglaries. Armed robberies, or worse, would be a different story.

I've had no issues driving wherever I pleased in Grand Cayman, Turks & Caicos (Providenciales), and Aruba over the last 4 years...so that's at least 3!

 

[tursiops]

That is harsh! Sounds like some something a tinpot dictatorship would do.

Pretty good description!

 

[tarponchik]

Holy moley, batman - hundreds over 10 years - police working on it - only one conviction.

You just have an irrational, unjustified obsession to bash Bonaire. Please never go there again. They don't want you.

I'd say, it is you who sounds obsessed and irrational here (maybe your opponent exaggerates the problems but his arguments are rational), but let me assure you, he is very much wanted in Bonaire, both by local tourism industry ($125M per year) and by petty criminals. So speak for yourself, not for the whole island.

 

[boat sju]

I've had no issues driving wherever I pleased in Grand Cayman, Turks & Caicos (Providenciales), and Aruba over the last 4 years...so that's at least 3!

Agreed. But those islands have issues too.

 

[lmorin]

According to this website, Bonaire is one of the most "secure" islands in the Caribbean.

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
• Martinique
• Antigua and Barbuda

Not surprisingly, these tend to be the islands that are either the most affluent or have the least tourism development.

 

[Schwob]

According to this website, Bonaire is one of the most "secure" islands in the Caribbean.

Thanks for that link.

I unsuccessfully tried to find a link in that article thst does not link to another article of the same outfit, but to statistics cited. The best I found was a link to the US state department through one of those other articles. There we are of cause dealing with an advisory, not the foreign statistics and there in the part about Bonaire
Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba
, they for the crime and safety statistics lump Bonaire together with
...Curacao...
Curaçao 2017 Crime & Safety Report
....
Where one finds, sorry for the total tangent, this interesting tidbit (likely old news detail for many but the cited reason for Insel Air's trouble, if one is to believe it, was new to me):

Aviation/Airport Conditions

In January 2012, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration downgraded Curaçao’s air safety rating from Category 1 to Category 2, based on standards set by the International Aviation Safety Assessment. Current air service is unaffected, but local airlines are not permitted to establish any new routes to the U.S. until Curaçao returns to Category 1.

The main local airline serving Caribbean destinations from Curaçao is Insel Air. In January 2017, the U.S. Consulate instituted a temporary ban on using Insel Air by Consulate employees due to safety concerns caused by non-payment of money owed the airline by Venezuela. The ban is to be in place until the airline shows that it is safe to fly again.

 

[KathyV]

According to this website, Bonaire is one of the most "secure" islands in the Caribbean.

That article is primarily about violent crime and murder and happily those events are rare on Bonaire. I am sure that most of the crime you hear about on Bonaire is due to thievery, not violent crime, and that's a good thing - but it may help to explain why it is still considered a secure destination.

 

[lmorin]

That article is primarily about violent crime and murder and happily those events are rare on Bonaire. I am sure that most of the crime you hear about on Bonaire is due to thievery, not violent crime, and that's a good thing - but it may help to explain why it is still considered a secure destination.

Yes, of course. For all possible destinations, travelers should put potential problems in perspective. I have a friend who went on a birding trip to Trinidad and her entire group was robbed at gunpoint in the countryside. I know another birder who went to Belize and was guided by a naturalist, but protected by security carrying machine guns. Petty theft--thievery, as you put it--is annoying, to say the least, but also minor in the grander scheme of things. I've experienced it in the theft of things from my car parked in my driveway at my former home on semi-rural Long Island. I've experienced it in NYCity when teenagers stole stuff out of sight in a locked car. The overwhelming safety of Bonaire is one major reason my wife and I purchased a condo unit there and have been averaging about 2.5 trips per year since 2006.

 

[Charred]

A pair of police, one patroling North and one South, would likely solve this problem overnight.

This assumes they are not corrupt....

And yet there are no patrols. To me this speaks volumes how much the island values its visitors.