I know that crime occurs everywhere and you have to remain cautious and alert. My wallet was once stolen in the Cozumel airport and my niece and her husband were robbed in Hawaii. They went to look at the volcano and found the car window smashed and goods stolen when they got back to the parking lot.
But what bothers me about Bonaire is that the culture of crime is so tolerated and ingrained in the society. Our first trip to Bonaire was in 1995, and even back then theft was a big issue and we received stern warnings from the car rental agency.
That didn't stop us from returning several times but the problem continues and has even worsened IMO. We were never victimized on Bonaire, but friends of ours were robbed. Thieves broke into their hotel room and took some jewelry, a camera and other items. Thank goodness they were out to dinner when it happened but that was probably part of the criminals' plans.
And I rather resent the fact that I can't bring a few essentials with me when shore diving Bonaire - like my phone. Sure, people will say "you are on vacation, leave the phone behind!" That sounds great, but the last time we were on Provo we were out driving the island on a Sunday and had traveled into some rural, unpopulated areas when we had car problems. I was very glad that I was able to call the rental company to request prompt assistance, but we couldn't do that on Bonaire because we wouldn't have a phone with us.
I truly believe that on a small island like Bonaire, most people know each other and it would not be hard for the police to find the major perpetrators and ring leaders and gather evidence for a conviction. If they ever bothered to try.
I read comments about the poverty on Bonaire as an explanation for the theft. But I don't actually think of Bonaire as a poor island especially as compared to some of the other places that we have visited. Have you ever been to Dominica? That has to be one of the poorest countries in the world but we never felt at risk and we didn't have to take extra precautions against theft. The island was devastated by a terrible tropical storm last year, but the locals have done a great job of rebuilding and their society did not become a den of thieves in the aftermath of the tragedy.
Below is a recent article from the Cayman Compass about the stiff sentence received by a man that was convicted of stealing a woman's handbag from a Grand Cayman beach (she very foolishly left her purse on the beach while swimming.) Her husband and a tour bus driver and others chased the guy down and called the police.
The magistrate gave him a very tough imprisonment sentence with some time off for "time already served" and for pleading guilty and the sentence will include community service. That sounds like a really hard sentence for a relatively minor crime, but the guy had previous convictions and the Judge said that crimes that affect the tourist industry and could negatively impact the economy cannot be tolerated and deterrents are necessary.
And that is not an unreasonable concern IMO, we all have heard about the terrible results on the local economy of St. Croix when the cruise ships stopped coming because of crimes against tourists. Businesses closed and honest, hard-working people really suffered. Sure, Cayman is a very wealthy country, but they are smart enough to try and protect their society and industries because they want to stay wealthy.
I think that the Bonaire government, police, and courts could do a much better job to reduce the crimes if they really wanted to do so; just my opinion.
"Magistrate says crime that negatively impacts Cayman’s tourism industry needs deterrent sentence
Cayman Compass
By
Carol Winker -
March 8, 2016
A man who admitted stealing a handbag from a female visitor at Smith Cove was sentenced on Monday to a year in prison.
Sentencing Al Handel Pearson, Magistrate Valdis Foldats said any crime that negatively impacted the tourist industry had to be met with a deterrent sentence. The magistrate handed down a term of 12 months immediate imprisonment plus a suspended sentence, as well as community service.
Pearson, 42, pleaded guilty to stealing a handbag that belonged to a passenger from the Carnival Breeze cruise ship around noon on Dec. 30. She was in the water at Smith Cove at the time, with the handbag on the beach within her view.
She saw Pearson approach the bag and shouted at him to stop, but he grabbed it and ran. She and her husband gave chase, as did other people, including a tour bus operator and a New York policeman on vacation.
Pearson was caught and held until police arrived. The handbag was recovered.
The magistrate said that for theft of a handbag in a tourist area, his starting point would be one year for an offender with no previous convictions. He noted that Magistrate Kirsty-Ann Gunn had recently identified 12 months’ imprisonment as a suitable starting point for such offenses where the offender is of good character.
Pearson, who had previous convictions, was not of good character, the magistrate noted. Deterrence for this defendant required an increase to two years’ imprisonment to send a message to other offenders with convictions for property offenses, he indicated, before giving discounts.
Defense attorney Nicholas Dixey asked for a sentence of “time served” – Pearson being in custody since the incident – and community service so that he could make reparation to the community for what he had done.
Mr. Dixey said this approach would serve as a punishment; it would also have a rehabilitative effect, as it would impose a work structure in keeping with honest employment.
The attorney compared Pearson’s offense to pick-pocketing on Oxford Street in London, and suggested that such offenses in England and Wales would not attract sentences of imprisonment of a length that would be reserved for more serious offences of dishonesty.
In reply, the magistrate pointed out that while pick-pocketing was a problem that has been present on the streets of London since the time of Charles Dickens, thefts from tourist areas in the Cayman Islands was an alarming new development that merited a sentence of deterrence. Such offending had to be stopped before it becomes common, he emphasized.
Dealing with Pearson directly, the magistrate accepted from Mr. Dixey that his client was genuinely remorseful and recognized that his offense was bad for tourism.
Starting at the two-year mark, the magistrate said he would give a full one-third for Pearson’s guilty plea. Guidelines say full credit need not be given where evidence is overwhelming. In this case a bystander took a photo of Pearson sitting on the ground with two men holding him down and a handbag nearby.
Subtracting one-third to reflect the guilty plea and the remorse expressed by the offender, the magistrate reached 16 months. He said he also felt able to suspend four months of the sentence for two years, on the condition that the offender consent to undertake 80 hours of community service.
Pearson did consent. He is to receive credit for his two-plus months in custody."
