Increasing crime in Bonaire

[gypsyjim]

Without a doubt.

Did the shop where the ring was purchased ask for a local address? That'd be a red flag right there.

Would have been easy enough for someone to follow you. Perhaps the shop has video of anyone else in the shop at the time of your purchase who left right after you? Or someone from the shop getting on the phone while/after you made your purchase?

Anyone else on-island know that you bought jewelry AND know you were out to dinner?

My first instinct was to have a similar reaction.
I am in the jewelry business, myself, and I do know of incidents here in the States, where jewelry store sales people have set up a customer, or a vendor for a theft, by alerting partners after they realize you might be a likely target.

It could be a random burglary of course, but the timing is really making me suspicious.

 

[RJP]

My first instinct was to have a similar reaction.
I am in the jewelry business, myself, and I do know of incidents here in the States, where jewelry store sales people have set up a customer, or a vendor for a theft, by alerting partners after they realize you might be a likely target.

It could be a random burglary of course, but the timing is really making me suspicious.

There's nothing random about a $6,000 worth of jewelry being stolen before the ink on the receipt was completely dry.

 

[KathyV]

I am going to throw a bit of fuel on the fire here. I have visited Bonaire, had nice time, left the windows down. Took the other usual precautions as I would any where else. Will probably go back at some point.

However, in traveling many other places in the world Bonaire is the first place I have visited where people are told to leave nothing in the vehicle and leave the windows down. Leaving the windows down goes beyond the typical home or travel precautions. And for that that, the island does deserve every bit of the bad rap they get. Regardless if this thread is the first or last.

I may have mentioned this before, but the first time we went to Bonaire the rental car agency handed us a Club (one of those big, heavy steering wheel locking devices that were in vogue about 20 years ago). He instructed us to "use it every single time that you park the car" and he said that if we didn't use the Club and the car was stolen then we would be responsible! I am not sure that he could have made that stick but it did catch our attention.

He then went on to recite the litany about leaving the car unlocked with the windows rolled down and not leaving anything valuable inside. I remember thinking "what kind of place have we come to?!" It was definitely not the usual orientation for a rental car.

Now that I think about it, I am kind of surprised that we kept coming back but we do love the diving freedom and culture and the general funkiness of Bonaire; but if we ever had an experience like Allen, that would probably be the last time for us too.

 

[halluxone]

Thanks for all the well wishes guys...we're just happy to be home with the mutts!����

So the first thing I thought about this break-in was the fact that there were NO signs of forced entry, both from the sliding glass door or the safe. Seemed like an inside job and I'm trying not to be so naive as to think somebody set us up! The jewelry store guys seemed totally cool and we were the only ones in the store at the time.

I met a local dive guide when I wandered into his store...totally cool guy and we both inexplicably love Phish. �� We hung out with him that night and again, no reason whatsoever to suspect him. I think we were simply targeted because we stayed in a luxury place with lousy security...it's very remote and the security folks don't have access to the back of the units that sit over the ocean. This is how they accessed the unit and they ran away on the beach. Strangely enough, they left a bag full of non-valuable items that were amassed from numerous locations, including receipts, extra key to our home in Atlanta and kids shirts we had purchased for our niece and nephew. Best souvenir story ever?�� It was almost as if they felt bad about their $hitty crime and conveniently placed them all in one bag on the beach to be collected by the police. Strange indeed.

 

[gypsyjim]

Costly bag of souvenirs though...

 

[oldschoolto]

Very unlikely that it was just a random break in... It down right smells of a set-up... I've been to bonaire twice both times for 14/16 days and leave in 3 weeks for 2 more weeks.. I feel far safer in Bonaire than NYC , Boston or Miami ... Very simple rules to follow in Bonaire, Leave nothing you don't want to lose and leave the windows open and doors unlocked... The reason to leave the window down is so if you forget to leave the doors unlocked , They don't break the glass to rummage through the car...

I've left the pick-up at every dive site and never had a problem, Don't even worry about it.. And i don't see kids "CASING" dive sites.. I've not seen anyone going through a pick-up as we drove by sites ( southern sites along the road ) headed to our dive site..

Does Bonaire have a crime problem ? Yes, As does the rest of the world... Does Bonaire have a drug problem ? Yes, as does the rest of the world... If I would have a scale of 1 to 10 and 1 being the worst and 10 the safest.. I would rate Bonaire a 8 or a 9... I don't worry about anything but where to dive next when we are there...

Jim...

 

[Lorenzoid]

Thanks for all the well wishes guys...we're just happy to be home with the mutts!����

So the first thing I thought about this break-in was the fact that there were NO signs of forced entry, both from the sliding glass door or the safe. Seemed like an inside job and I'm trying not to be so naive as to think somebody set us up! The jewelry store guys seemed totally cool and we were the only ones in the store at the time.

I met a local dive guide when I wandered into his store...totally cool guy and we both inexplicably love Phish. �� We hung out with him that night and again, no reason whatsoever to suspect him. I think we were simply targeted because we stayed in a luxury place with lousy security...it's very remote and the security folks don't have access to the back of the units that sit over the ocean. This is how they accessed the unit and they ran away on the beach. Strangely enough, they left a bag full of non-valuable items that were amassed from numerous locations, including receipts, extra key to our home in Atlanta and kids shirts we had purchased for our niece and nephew. Best souvenir story ever?�� It was almost as if they felt bad about their $hitty crime and conveniently placed them all in one bag on the beach to be collected by the police. Strange indeed.

I take it you're the wife of Allen Raphael of post #136. See, I'm like a detective.

 

[gypsyjim]

As with most crime, everywhere, we probably will never know exactly who, or how this last break in/burglary came about. We can guess, and hope to answers, but I would not hold my breath.

Solving burglaries seems to only happen on TV, but rarely in life, unless someone is caught in the act, with goods in hand. It is not just a Bonaire phenomenon that crimes go unsolved.

My employer lost close to 1/2 million $ in Jewelry here several years ago, in a 2 minute break in. We have watched that burglary from several views, over and over again. Two minutes from the breaking of the glass, til the three men were done! Damn!

One camera even captured the first Police car arriving at @3 minutes, 1 minute too late.

Last year one arrest was finally made in that crime, and then only because one of the creeps had cut himself while rifling into a broken glass showcase, and Police had his DNA on record when he was recently picked up in another state.

No help to us. All he got was a slap on his hand because lack of any other evidence led to a plea bargain in our case, and of course no restitution, and no others were arrested. The Police have told us several times that we caught a huge break because of the blood, and that such crimes are almost never solved. Not too sure why we do not feel luck, or safe.

 

[boat sju]

I take it you're the wife of Allen Raphael of post #136. See, I'm like a detective.

Or maybe the experience got Allen thinking that he shouldn't be posting using his real name and telling strangers that he and his wife are out of town.

 

[Bas Harts]

Skip Bonaire..... Dive Curacao