How is crime in Bonaire?

[LordHavoc]

I have a friend whose Gopro accessories and his wives clothes were stolen from the truck. They were not upset but the thieves also took the spare tire from the rental car. This happened many years ago. Is Bonaire still that bad?

 

[tursiops]

You don't say where you are from. I don't leave valuables in my car at home. Why would I do it in Bonaire?

Sure there is theft; rare and usually of no consequence....because people are smart enough not to leave valuables in their car. Yes, you leave the car unlocked, windows down (if not raining). I don't do that at home because I don't want my car stolen. Cars are not stolen in Bonaire, so no big deal.

P.S. There are endless threads on SB on this. Just do a little searching.

 

[SoccerDad]

Pretty much any place including the US that has shore diving has some car theft. Be smart and do not invite crime.

 

[drrich2]

Shore diving in rustic areas pretty much guarantees that the property owners/renters are encumbered in awkward gear, literally weighted down, wearing fins and can't run fast, and will reliably be gone out of sight over 45 minutes. They are likely tourists and will leave the island (probably the country) within a week or so. And law enforcement won't be going all 'C.S.I.' tracking down petty theft perp.s.

Put your rental truck key in some sort of dry box (some of us like the new DryFob), leave your doors unlocked and windows down (as tursiops said, if not raining), don't leave anything of value except scuba tanks in the vehicle (or minor things you can write off it taken; sunglasses, flip flops, a 2-L plastic bottle of water frozen to provide drinking and rinse water). Don't leave camera gear, cell phones, money, etc...

That usually avoids the problem. In fact, if you do those things, and lock your apartment door, you probably won't have a problem.

Disclaimer: Once in awhile we hear of disturbing atypical violations, like when the spare tire was taken from the vehicle of your friend and his wife. Or a battery is stolen or gas siphoned. Those accounts seem few, but I would imagine could be highly aggravating. In a nutshell, not likely but of course I can't guarantee you anything, any more than I can do so regarding your own car back home.

We occasionally hear reports of burglaries of accommodations. It's been my subjective impression from forum reports that it seems more of those were in small or single residence accommodations, rather than on larger dive resort grounds like Buddy Dive Resort. I haven't rented condo.s and I'm not saying don't. I am saying if you have a higher than usual anxiety level about crime, a room on grounds in a big dive resort might help you feel more comfortable.

I've found Bonaire a pretty safe place to get out and walk around, even late. I don't go out looking for seedy looking places, drugs, hit on local women, get drunk in bars, etc... Most anywhere you can find trouble if you go looking.

 

[Doctorfish]

There is a crime report in the Bonaire Reporter every two weeks. This would only include cases reported to the police, but generally a pretty quiet, safe place.

 

[brsnow]

Do most dive without a oxygen kit or where do you keep it?

 

[Lorenzoid]

Take a look through the threads on this forum. There are many threads, including a trip report of my own, reporting thefts from lodging and, more commonly, rental trucks. Regrettably, when a thread triggers a debate on how bad (or not bad) the crime is on Bonaire, one of the regulars here on the Bonaire forum will roll their eyes and say "not another Bonaire crime thread!"

Bonaire is not the idyllic backwater it may have been decades ago, and there are probably many factors. The increase in tourism provides opportunity, and there is a drug trade effect coming from South America. There are also loads of reports of theft from rental trucks because there are loads of rental trucks relative to the size of the island, and many dive sites are somewhat isolated and out of view of the main road, which is a fairly unique situation among dive/tourism destinations. All that said, the Dutch authorities may be doing a better job than the local government prior to Bonaire rejoining the Netherlands. The police officers my group dealt with after the break-in at our lodging were very professional.

You ask if the crime is "still" as bad as it was "many" years ago. (How many years ago?) My guess would be that the level of crime has ebbed and flowed with the various factors I mentioned, the state of the local economy, etc. It's my impression that there has been no vast reduction in crime if that's what you're asking.

I live in a US city with pretty substantial crime, so Bonaire does not faze me. Violent crime, especially against tourists, is still fairly rare on Bonaire.

 

[drrich2]

Do most dive without a oxygen kit or where do you keep it?

I've not noticed any shore divers diving with an oxygen kit.

For Bonaire shore diving, I think the main hazards are turning an ankle or falling, given that the shoreline in many places and the bottom are often iron shore, rough, abrasive and rock hard.

Richard.

 

[tursiops]

Do most dive without a oxygen kit or where do you keep it?

You want to be sure and take a backboard and AED with you too, and a satellite phone is always a good idea. And at least one tourniquet for the inevitable shark bite.

/sarcasm

 

[drrich2]

You know, it is worth noting most of Bonaire's mainstream west coast sites are a bit 'rustic,' and shore diving at some you might be the only diver/buddy pair/truck there. It's not practical to carry a cell phone, unless you make 'dry box' type accommodation for it and are prepared to accept the risk of losing it in a flood. So if you strongly prefer dive settings where substantial backup health care and emergency intervention service is available, it might not appeal.

There are ways to mitigate that, if you wish. You are highly unlikely to be the only diver at Salt Pier; some sites are pretty busy. A few have a food truck operation close by (e.g.: Bachelor Beach, Windsock/Corporal Meiss). I hear some Curacao shore sites have amenities (at some a dive shop!), so there's that.

But fair warning; if you're the only truck at an isolated site in Bonaire, and you fall and break a leg or jam some sea urchin spins into your hand, or get one of those rare but serious cases of immersion pulmonary edema, or an undeserved DCS hit, etc..., if you're like a lot of shore divers, you won't have a cell phone to call for help, staff intervening with emergency O2 while a boat captain calls DAN, etc... I wonder how many divers have a significant first aid kit in their trucks? I'm guessing not many.

I love Bonaire, and as a solo shore diver I take on more risk.

It's possible to just do boat dives in Bonaire, but that's not what it's known for or best at.