Bonaire Crime - Our experience - Looking for input to share

[scubadada]

This thread reminds me of a dispute on the elementary school playground

 

[Lemuzzon]

They have every right to an opinion. And like people scared of Bonaire, they can simply not come to the U.S. and have no worries.

Not really, because the US goes everywhere else with their guns as well...

 

[Pedroinspain]

Latest News on communications to Bonaire authorities:

As a result of the lack of response from Bonaire authorities and their police, I went to their boss, the Dutch Ministry of Security and Justice in The Hague (Netherlands). Here is the (translated) reply:

Dear Sir, I can imagine your irritation at the lack of response. I forwarded your email to the police on Bonaire with a request to process your request and to answer you in the short term. If, within four weeks you have had no reply, would you please inform me.

Best regards

Steven Kavelaar (Management and Strategy - Director General Police)

[Geachte Heer, Uw irritatie over het uitblijven van een reactie kan ik voorstellen. Ik heb uw mail dan ook overgedragen aan de politie Bonaire met het verzoek deze in behandeling te nemen en u op korte termijn te antwoorden.

Als u binnen vier weken nog geen enkele reactie hebt gekregen (bijv geen ontvangstbevestiging), wilt u mij dat dan laten weten?

Vriendelijke groet,

Stephen Kavelaar,
Regie en Strategie DG Politie]

 

[Lorenzoid]

I . . . However, your choices don't make everyone else's dumb for having a different outlook and a different indifference of crime than you do, especially when your perspective is so skewered in the opposite direction since you live in a high crime area and take draconian steps to combat it. Many of the rest of us come from low crime homes and have different expectations of security and victimization, especially when we are spending thousands of hard earned dollars for getting away from it all for relaxation and enjoyment.

I wonder about this. It's difficult to quantify how many visitors to Bonaire come from "low crime" areas versus "high crime" areas and therefore what their expectations might be. There is a whole continuum from low to high. Sure, to Dusty and me, who live in high-crime places, Bonaire looks safe enough, to mmmbelows, who lives in a low-crime place, Bonaire looks dangerous, and Pedroinspain lives in bliss "on the edge of the Med." But we are just a tiny few data points. Lots of Europeans from some of the big cities visit Bonaire. If you live in Brussels or Paris, or if you're a Brit or European who has been scared off the Red Sea, maybe Bonaire looks pretty safe right now. Probably some South Americans visit Bonaire, too. Maybe there are more divers than you realize who live in parts of the world where bars on the windows and broken car windows are the norm?

 

[ericjespersen]

There have been 34 pages of posts made here about crime on Bonaire over the month of March.

A couple of take aways:

It seems an isolated or individual rental property is more prone to B&E than established resorts.

I have no clear sense whether there is a variation of the theft rate among dive sites. It might be valuable to know this information.

My sense and observation is that the northern dive sites are more prone to theft. I think this is because they are on the way to Rincon and that these sites offer more cover from which thieves can shelter, observe and strike. This is especially so at Oil Slick. I have stayed at Caribbean Club and noticed a lot of trails overlooking Oil Slick's parking area. I even recall one group being robbed despite one of their party remaining on shore there.

The southern sites are farther away from the common local travel routes and there is less cover.

Does anyone have anything to share? Please mention the dive site(s) you have suffered thefts at.

Our trucks were also hit at Oil Slick..got some cheap coolers and a few beers and some old sandles.. certainly not enough to stop us from returning or even not to dive Oil Slick again. One person with us lost a bit more, but we warned her beforehand and she didn't believe us...

 

[mmmbelows]

I wonder about this. It's difficult to quantify how many visitors to Bonaire come from "low crime" areas versus "high crime" areas and therefore what their expectations might be. There is a whole continuum from low to high. Sure, to Dusty and me, who live in high-crime places, Bonaire looks safe enough, to mmmbelows, who lives in a low-crime place, Bonaire looks dangerous, and Pedroinspain lives in bliss "on the edge of the Med." But we are just a tiny few data points. Lots of Europeans from some of the big cities visit Bonaire. If you live in Brussels or Paris, or if you're a Brit or European who has been scared off the Red Sea, maybe Bonaire looks pretty safe right now. Probably some South Americans visit Bonaire, too. Maybe there are more divers than you realize who live in parts of the world where bars on the windows and broken car windows are the norm?

Could be, but I certainly don't feel bad for anybody if where they live they frequently have home breakins with burglars standing over their beds, with you waking up in the middle of the night to find somebody in your room, which has been reported multiple times about Bonaire, if you live in a situation like this, but have the financial ability to take tropical vacations, you have the financial means to move to a safer neighborhood. Doesn't really make a lot of sense, and I don't know of any other destinations that continuously have these reports being made by tourists.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Again, mmmbelows, you're looking at the extreme case of a crime-ridden place where "burglars stand over their beds," etc. That's the far end of the bell curve or spectrum. All I meant to note was that I believe there are many respectable places in the world, perhaps in the middle of the crime bell curve, where divers live in very nice residences, in gated communities with a guard shack out front, or in townhouses with bars on the lower windows, or with security systems, to guard against what would likely happen if they did not take such measures, and maybe they aren't fazed by the level of crime on Bonaire.

 

[deedeediver]

If you would like to see the crime statistics for 2015 here is the link: Its in Dutch, my google translate said it was too big translate, however, i translated some of it: pretty interesting: 09-03-2016 Criminaliteitscijfers 2015If

 

[diver 85]

It's also worth noting that Dutch law is very much different than USA law regarding home invasions and protection of private property etc. A homeowner can't just whack a thief with a baseball bat or machete if he catches one ransacking his house in the middle of the night. The homeowner must prove in court that his life was in imminent danger and that violence was the only way to protect himself.

No wonder they wear wooden shoes........

 

[diver 85]

What is the lesson you took from this?

Don't go--------back......