(Bold emphasis to parts of your previous quote added by me.)
I believe your story, but disagree with your ensuing opinions. The majority of Bonairean crimes discussed on SB, BonaireTalk, TripAdvisor, Forum Bonaire's FB page, the BES Police website, the Bonaire Reporter newspaper, and anyplace else where victims of crime on Bonaire are heard publicly appear to disagree with it too. Most of those sources primarily discuss property crimes perpetrated against tourists, residents, and local businesses by a small subset of unscrupulous local residents. Crimes reported to be perpetrated by tourists upon other tourists are infrequent and seldom, if ever, mentioned. Your story is an exception, and I'm arguing that it should be treated as such.
So... If you disagree... please feel free to back your position up with some specific supporting data.
I'd also like to thank you and several other contributors to this thread for reminding me why we don't travel with groups or stay at "resorts" on Bonaire anymore. There are many more intimate options available on the island and it's been fun exploring them over the previous decade or so. I encourage everyone else to consider doing the same when planning their next visit to lovely Bonaire.
You try providing the specific statistics to back up your allegations.
I too read Bonaire Talk and receive Bonaire crime updates regularly. As far as I know no one has been caught in the act of stealing from dive vehicles, so your theory of who has been doing it has no better likelihood of being accurate than my own. After 10 years of diving Bonaire I can tell you that there has always been suspicion that at least some of those petty thefts from parked dive trucks has been theft of opportunity by other divers, but as no one seems to be able to catch the crooks in the act all we have is speculation, based on observation and pure theory of
why no one ever been seems to be seen in the act.
As for business and home break in's, car thefts, and such crime, Bonaire certainly has that, which is why doors and windows on the island are often protected by bars and gates. (Something I also see pretty much anywhere I travel be it home or abroad, barring some of our own more rural towns far from "big city" influences) This type of crime is going to be a more organized local criminal, who often brings the tools they need to bypass or break through security systems, grates or alarms. If you are staying off resort and are seen as a rich, ripe target, then this type of crime is more likely to effect you, which is why a great number of divers use the resorts who provide some level of security from this type of criminal.
Obviously this sort of crime is not expected to be diver on diver crime, like theft from gear rooms almost certainly is, and theft from trucks may also be.
My observation and the reason for this thread is that after 10 years of visiting this island at least once a year is that we all too often have overlooked our "fellow" divers when searching for culprits, and for solutions. My observation is that some of our own crowd of divers seem to have been contributing fairly heavily to the perception of a "Bonaire crime wave" that some folks on SB love to
Comments by some about taking their business elsewhere have overlooked the possibility that when you travel elsewhere the same thief that stole gear on Bonaire may also be there right along side of you at your next dive site. While this "diver" may not be the one cutting a safe out of a wall in an off resort rental they are just as likely to pocket your high end camera lens or swipe a good regulator or computer if they see the opportunity to get away with it, almost anywhere we travel if we are not careful and observant.
