Do not listen to AVIS!

[Fedaykin]

Wow again... I didn’t know that I’m living in such a safe country I’m leaving my car for a week in a dive site and nothing happens I’m leaving every piece of equipment on cost without any guardians near them, they are still on the beach. Even most of the times, I don’t close the cover of my equipment case. I knew crime rate is high in US but didn’t assume this high. You are all seeing this kind of crime so natural

Edit: Ok my mistake, from this continent of the world I thought Bonaire is at USA.

 

[Lorenzoid]

With respect to Bonaire being more like a small town in the US than a "big city" where car break-ins elicit yawns from the police, I wonder if the ratio of police to residents on Bonaire is on par with a small town in the US? If Bonaire were the US, how many officers and/or how many patrol cars typically would be patrolling the most densely populated parts of the island?

With threads like this one in mind, on our last few trips my wife and I have been on the lookout for police, just to see how many we can count. Kind of a game we play. Seeing even one police vehicle during a week's stay has been rare.

 

[kelemvor]

Wow again... I didn’t know that I’m living in such a safe country I’m leaving my car for a week in a dive site and nothing happens I’m leaving every piece of equipment on cost without any guardians near them, they are still on the beach. Even most of the times, I don’t close the cover of my equipment case. I knew crime rate is high in US but didn’t assume this high. You are all seeing this kind of crime so natural

Edit: Ok my mistake, from this continent of the world I thought Bonaire is at USA.

In the US, at least where I live I've never had a car broken into. Even when I've accidentally left it unlocked at dive sites. I often leave my vehicle at dive sites (usually locked) with tons of gear in it.

Some places in the US might be problematic; New York, Miami come to mind. The various dive towns (Lauderdale by the sea, FL - High Springs, FL - various FL Keys) have never been a problem for me or anyone I know personally. I bet even if you went to New York or Miami, you'd never be told to leave your rental car unlocked so that thieves don't break the window.

Bonaire is a territory of the Netherlands, not the USA (as you already surmised). Oddly, according to wikipedia, the US Dollar is their official currency.

 

[Dan]

Breaking car window is a sign of desperation. Not a good sign to hang around in the area. So, that limits to where you want to visit.

We do have places here in USA, where we don't want to hang around in. Knowing where they are is a good way to stay out of trouble & to have a relaxing vacation without the stress of dealing & wasting precious vacation time with the local rental car company insurance & police. We can do that at home.

However, come to think of it, getting car window broken in has not, yet, happens to me, personally, at home (knock on wood). Often I left home in a rush, forgetting to lock the house door or to close the garage door & nothing happened (again knock on wood).

 

[Doctorfish]

Interesting how this thread has gone.

I personally am not overly critical of local poor people stealing a few trinkets from diver's trucks. Hard to blame them given the disparity between their incomes and circumstances in comparison to the tourists. I've been to a number of developing countries where there is far more crime.

I've had gear stolen from the gear room at Buddy dive. Unlikely to have been other than another diver, which really pisses me off.
I'm glad they put in lockers, but still do not leave anything of high value down there overnight.

 

[DiveMaven]

Interestingly enough, we think we foiled thieves on our last dive day down at Tori's Reef. There were 3 trucks there (including ours) and my husband was looking in tide pools away from the truck, while I was hanging out near the rear of the vehicle. A rusted out Suzuki Samari stopped on the road and started backing up in front of the two other trucks. The lady in the passenger seat looked over and finally saw me, making eye contact, and the next thing the driver tried peeling out going the same direction they had come from. He stalled the car, the lady looked at me a little wide eyed, and when they finally got going, they scooted out very quickly.

Will the events of our first few days prevent us from returning to Bonaire? A resounding No.
Will Bonaire be high on our list for our next international trip? No, but only because we've been here 5x and would like to go somewhere with Macro critters next time.
Did we ever feel unsafe on the island? No
Did we have a great time? YES
Would we recommend Bonaire to others? YES

Going home today after 2 lovely weeks of relaxation, diving, great views from our condo at Den Laman, and lots of fun.

 

[Dan]

Glad to hear it ends well.

 

[scuba127]

Me too.....52 days and a wake up......

 

[mmmbelows]

With respect to Bonaire being more like a small town in the US than a "big city" where car break-ins elicit yawns from the police, I wonder if the ratio of police to residents on Bonaire is on par with a small town in the US? If Bonaire were the US, how many officers and/or how many patrol cars typically would be patrolling the most densely populated parts of the island?

With threads like this one in mind, on our last few trips my wife and I have been on the lookout for police, just to see how many we can count. Kind of a game we play. Seeing even one police vehicle during a week's stay has been rare.

Getting the idea they don't care yet?

 

[Lorenzoid]

Getting the idea they don't care yet?

To state it another way, does anyone here know whether Bonaire law enforcement would be considered understaffed by small-town US standards? I don't know what resources they put out there, or what would be considered typical by US standards. I do know that I have not personally observed many police vehicles or officers, but that's just me. I refuse to jump to conclusions. There are apparently small towns in the US plagued by crime, drugs, etc., and I would guess they could use some more policing. So, what's typical for a place like that? Is Bonaire extremely understaffed by US standards, or merely understaffed the same way as some small towns in the US?