Increasing crime in Bonaire

[Lorenzoid]

Don't read the police blotters here in FL or you would NEVER come visit!

I think one has to interpret the crime statistics based on population. That is, violent crime rate per capita. Bonaire is a sparsely populated island. There's what, around 15,000 inhabitants, of which around 5,000 live in Kralendijk?

 

[drrich2]

A friend and good dive buddy just finished a year & 4 months attending classes at St. James Medical School on Bonaire. Therefore, he had a chance to see Bonaire from another perspective, and he told me about a couple of classmates robbed at gunpoint, as it was around the time of year a lot of med. students had gotten their apartment deposits back in anticipation of leaving the island.

In a nutshell, yes, there is more crime than truck thefts, and if you're a resident of the island, that's an issue. But petty theft from trucks is the main crime targeting tourists.

Bonaire is heavily dependent on tourism, especially diving tourism, and a lot of people who come there are part of groups and network with other divers such as via ScubaBoard. Violent crime on a tourist diver could have a serious chilling effect on tourism and thus the economy. Yes, there have been break ins that have affected tourists. Don't seem real common, but it has happened at dive resort rooms in the past.

When I'm in Bonaire a buddy & I walk around at night in the main city with no substantial concerns. Of course, we don't look or act drunk or rich, don't hit on local women and stay out of bars.

You want some scary island stories, do some searching online for a forum where St. Thomas residents who are U.S.-expatriates talk about crime. Or mainland Honduras. For that matter, people have been posting that the guy who used to run a ferry between Roatan and Utila (I think it was) got murdered not too long ago. Hey, who wants to go to Jamaica?

Richard.

 

[DeputyDan]

More importantly, who wants to go to Jamaica and leave their automobile beside a deserted beach while shore diving.

 

[diverrex]

Everything is relative. There are some islands where people go to an all inclusive and never even leave the resort for the week because of the crime on the "outside". Other places are basically safe but you would never leave a car unattended at a shore dive site. I'd say Bonaire is about as safe as any other location, safer than many others. I have never even thought twice about walking downtown at night with my wife.

Yeah it could be an inconvenience but mostly we are talking about getting your ratty old t shirt and flip flops stolen. I suppose most of us will continue to take that minimal risk because of the dive freedom offered by Bonaire. As I and others have said if it ever got to the point that every time you came up from a dive your stuff was gone, or violent crimes started to occur frequently then maybe it's time to stop going to Bonaire but I suspect we are a long way from that.

 

[Lorenzoid]

It's not even so much the amount of crime but the apparent increase in the amount of crime in a relatively short time that bothers me. Yes, my dive buddies and I are accustomed to walking around the center of Kralendijk at night without a care in the world--and that's one of the reasons why we love the place and feel more at ease there than, say, Honduras. It has always felt very safe compared with other island places I've been. I don't like the thought of Bonaire becoming like those other places.

It's a small island that lives on tourism. They had better up the policing.

 

[Hintermann]

It's not even so much the amount of crime but the apparent increase in the amount of crime in a relatively short time that bothers me. It's a small island that lives on tourism. They had better up the policing.

That is what I meant. The cause of that increased crime may well be part of the global economic setback but that could also eventually become responsible for more serious crime against tourists. In a lot of 'poorer' countries, Western tourists are often seen as the ones with the money. A lot of reports mentioned that the police were not exactly helpful or effective and that could be a recipe for the problem getting worse.

When I was in Belize last year, one of the hotel staff members told us not to go into the city unless we were in a group, even during the day.

 

[Drewpy]

I hate to say this ( no first hand knowledge) but I have read about an increase in crime lately..some of it involving firearms. I subscribe to Forum Bonaire on FB and have read about them there, I have also read about the capture of some of the perps, but there does seem to be some more incidents involving weapons unfortunately.

Having said that, I have been to Bon 5 times and have never had an incident and have stayed at villas, apts and resorts. I have always been one to dismiss the crime issue and plan to return many more times. In six weeks on the island I have never even lost a flip-flop or t-shirt and have been treated wonderfully by the locals.

 

[Lorenzoid]

That is what I meant. The cause of that increased crime may well be part of the global economic setback but that could also eventually become responsible for more serious crime against tourists. In a lot of 'poorer' countries, Western tourists are often seen as the ones with the money. A lot of reports mentioned that the police were not exactly helpful or effective and that could be a recipe for the problem getting worse.

Your original post struck me as alarmist and something we've heard many times before, but I believe this thread has raised my awareness of increasing crime. The police blotter link was the clincher.

When I was in Belize last year, one of the hotel staff members told us not to go into the city unless we were in a group, even during the day.

Belize City (if that's what you meant by "the city") is urban and gritty and not centered around tourism, with a population around 15 times that of sleepy little Kralendijk. I can imagine many armed robberies occurring there. I just can't bring myself to imagine even one hotel robbery on Bonaire. But it seems to have occurred. Bonaire just seems so idyllic. I'm sure some of that has always been an illusion that we visitors see because that's what we want to see (no doubt there has always been plenty of poverty), but it does seem to be losing its island innocence. Pilfering of things left in rental trucks is one thing, but armed robbery with guns is another. I know the likelihood of such crimes affecting me as a visitor is very low, but the reports are changing my view of Bonaire.

 

[PeterNBiddle]

The blotter only goes back one year. Why do you think that it proves there's an increase in crime? Where is the police blotter from 2005 that shows less reported crime?

 

[vladimir]

Suggested edits:

More importantly, who wants to go to Jamaica and [-]leave their automobile beside a deserted beach while[/-] shore dive [-]ing[/-].

More importantly, who wants to go to Jamaica and [-]leave their automobile beside a deserted beach while shore[/-] dive [-]ing[/-].

More importantly, who wants to go to Jamaica [-]and leave their automobile beside a deserted beach while shore diving[/-].