Bonaire - security?

[jepuskar]

Crime in Bonaire is not a problem, peoples negligence in using common sense is. Vjongene stated below that he used bad judgement by leaving articles in the car and going diving when it is widely known that you just don't do this. He also left scuba equipment on an outside patio....

Crime does happen everywhere, it is a fact of this world. Bonaire gets singled out because it is a small population, one that is by no means rich, the majority of crimes are petty and easily avoidable.

When I travel I don't rely on the Police to ensure my stuff is safe nor do I rely on them to ensure every little petty theft is off the street. I use my common sense and follow directions by the rental car places, and hotels.

This kind of thing does happen everywhere.

 

[AggieDiver]

So sleeping in a motel room with your dive gear is negligence? Renting a car with a spare tire mounted on the outside is negligence? Leaving dive gear in a hotel room with the door locked is negligence? The last three reports of theft I have read from Bonaire involved 1) people getting gear stolen from their room while they slept, 2) people who locked their gear in their room and left to go eat, and 3) people who rented a car with a tire mounted on the back and had it stolen. How are any of those situations negligent? Should they have brought their own heavy duty locks and large chains to lock their dive gear to the engine block of the dive boat? Should they have refused to rent the car provided by the agency and instead shipped in their own car from home?

By contrast, the last three reports of theft I have read in the last month at other popular dive destinations other than the stories in this thread were....wait I haven't read of ANY other thefts that didn't occur in Bonaire in the last month. Bonaire gets singled out because the crime is a well known, well established industry, and other small population dive tourism oriented islands like Bonaire wouldn't tolerate it since it threatens their economy. Bonaire on the other hand doesn't just tolerate it, they wink at it and the police clearly are ambivalent about even making a show of policing it. THAT is why Bonaire gets singled out.

I am not saying don't go there. If you feel like taking your chances for the great diving, go ahead. All I am trying to say is don't try to excuse the crime that goes on there by saying "it is the same everywhere" because it isn't. It isn't even close anywhere else in the Caribbean. Crime occurs everywhere. But it occurs on Bonaire on such a scale and with such regularity that it makes Bonaire a noteworthy exception to other similar diving destinations.

 

[ScubaFriend]

I have been to Bonaire 5 time i love the place i have never had any problem with crime, i hired cars but left nothing in them when i dived, in fact i left all the doors and windows open when i wasnt there.

Admittedly i stayed at the higher end hotels and never had a problem with theft there i would highy reccommend the island

 

[vjongene]

Crime in Bonaire is not a problem, peoples negligence in using common sense is. Vjongene stated below that he used bad judgement by leaving articles in the car and going diving when it is widely known that you just don't do this. He also left scuba equipment on an outside patio....

This kind of thing does happen everywhere.

This is a typical "blame the victim" rationalization. Stuff doesn't get stolen because you leave it in a car or put it out to dry on the balcony. It gets stolen because there are thieves ready to grab it. If I cannot park a car with stuff in it without it getting broken into, or put my gear out to dry on a second floor balcony, then I will think twice about returning to that place.

Yes, theft happens everywhere. But as pointed out by AggieDiver it doesn't happen with the same frequency. If I have a choice between 1:10 and 1:1000 I know where I'll take my chances. In Bonaire, theft has become so commonplace that it is threatening the tourist industry. Many dive shop owners are aware of this, and are complaining.

I am not counting on the police to protect me from thieves. I am counting on the police to catch said thieves and give them strong incentives not to do it again. I believe that this also applies to the US or Canada.

 

[rjchandler]

..wait I haven't read of ANY other thefts that didn't occur in Bonaire in the last month. .....



. It isn't even close anywhere else in the Caribbean. .... But it occurs on Bonaire on such a scale and with such regularity that it makes Bonaire a noteworthy exception to other similar diving destinations.

Well there was the Tobermory incident I mentioned earlier


People regularly complain and "crime on Bonaire" threads take on a life of their own. I never see anyone crunch actual numbers.

 

[AggieDiver]

The part of the sentence before what you quoted included the qualifier "other than the stories in this thread", which was intended to include the Tobermory incident. And you are right, I have never seen any compilation of statistics from a credible source, because I think the credible sources in this case (the local police at each location) tend to keep such information as quiet as possible. However, even if the threads themselves take on a life of their own, when was the last time you saw a thread started about theft anywhere besides Bonaire. I remember two, one dealing with baggage theft on TACA Airlines, and one dealing with gear being stolen out of a locker at Treasure Island (I believe) on GC about a year ago. In the same period of time here and on D2D, I recall seeing numerous threads specifically started by somebody who had their gear stolen. So just by anecdotal evidence, I would say the problem is more significant by a large margin on Bonaire. If I ever see any hard data either way, I will be sure to post it for future reference.

 

[dvrliz1]

I have to wonder who these people are who say crime is as bad as they say on Bonaire. Yes there is petty crime, and but 1:10 or 1:20??? No way. Have any of you who speak of Bonaire's "terrible crime" ever been to Bonaire more than once or twice? We travel to Bonaire 2-3 times per year. Hubby has been going since 1976 and me since 1992. Nothing ever stolen, even from our back yard (open to a parking area). Not that crime doesn't happen, it does, just like everywhere else. At any one time while we are on the island, between major resorts, private and small inns there are probably 2000-3000 vacationers on the island a week, maybe you hear of 1-2 reports, most times nothing. Bonaire is a small island, so when someone is robbed, EVERYONE hears about it. Like I said, we travel 2-3 times a year to Bonaire for 2-3 weeks at a time.

We live in the Northeast. I grew up down south. Down south, you could pull into a 7-11, leave your car running, run in and grab a coke and not think a thing about it. In the Northeast, people lock their cars before going into the 7-11! Common sense and practicality does come in play here!

I don't know...it's still not the Bahamas where the police warn vacationing single women not to stray to Nassau from Paradise Island alone at night (you can walk anywhere on Bonaire at night and not be worried), and it's not Mexico, where if you leave the resorts and attempt to "explore" you risk the chance of banditos running you off the road and robbing and beating you! I'll take Bonaire anyday!

 

[Danny-Diver]

I think it's unfortunate that Bonaire suffers from a bad reputation. It is so clean. Poverty is present but not as evident as other countries I've been.
I've been on Bonaire 10 days in April and had that experience.
After a dive at the Salt Pier, I was a little tired and unfortunatly left my computer on the side of the truck.
When I left, it fell off on the road.
During my return trip I was chased by a truck with someone waving at me. I stopped and the driver handed me back my computer. I tried to thank him with money but he politely refused. Imagine how I felt. And I'm shure, he knew the value of the computer and could have traded it easily.
We never experienced any problems during our stay so it is difficult for me to read postings of bad experience.
We will return without hesitation in even if we read bad stories.

 

[Diver Kat]

Danny - nice story to show the 'other' side of Bonaire! There are good people & bad people everywhere ..... we don't hear enough about the good ones!

 

[munkispank]

the crime situation on Bonaire really shouldn't discourage you from going. I understand there have been unfortuante incidents as listed in this post, but the majority of the people you meet will be friendly and nice. I didn't experience any crime and didn't speak to anyone who had- but that doesn't mean it isn't there. I feel bad for those who were burgled in their room- but that can happen anywhere and is not perculiar to Bonaire.
I had a similar incident as posted above with some goods I had left by the truck after ungearing being passed back to me. And when I went to do Salt peir at night I got a little nervous with the locals 'hanging around' but they actually wanted to give me advice on the dive and wish me a good time.
I honestly wish I hadn;t read so many horror stories before going as it did make ma a little paranoid and threatened to overshadow what was a wonderful trip. Just be cautious and try to remember that good things do happen.