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Local Items: Break Ins Continue
Bonaire Talk: Local Items: Archives: Archives 2010: Archives 01-01-10 to 06-30-10: Break Ins Continue
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bill LaBarge (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #251) on Wednesday, May 12, 2010 - 7:56 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Here is the latest entry from the Belnam Watchdog Blog: Please be aware!

On Monday 10 May there was an attempted break in at Casa Cambur in the Kaya
Saturnus.

A reminder to all of us that even with the arrests of several persons the break
ins can continue !!!! Please keep your eyes open and continue to be careful

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bill LaBarge (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #252) on Wednesday, May 12, 2010 - 11:09 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Apologies to the Belnem group. They do not want this information shared. I can't understand why, but you folks will have to find another way to know what is going on. They have decided that only folks in Belnem should know, so I will not be able to give you any more information. My regrets...
Bill

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Eric M. "CamMan" (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1090) on Wednesday, May 12, 2010 - 11:11 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

By "attempted" I'm assuming you mean it was not successful. Could you elaborate on what thwarted the attempt? I mean the cat's out of the bag on this one anyway.

e.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jeanine wants a tribble. (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #9757) on Wednesday, May 12, 2010 - 1:02 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Actually, they have decided that only people who own property and live in Belnem know what is going. People who visit and stay in Belnem are not allowed to join the blog.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bill LaBarge (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #254) on Wednesday, May 12, 2010 - 2:32 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Having been duly reprimanded for my
indiscretion, I don't have any other info. Not sure why they don't make things more public. I'm one who believes in the squeaky wheel getting the oil.... so if I get info from other sources will share....

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Antony Bond (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #669) on Thursday, May 13, 2010 - 5:05 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

I would hope that it is the not the owners of rental properties who choose not to share the areas crime problems with the rest of the community for fear of losing income.

That would be disgraceful.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By dfwtravler (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #202) on Friday, May 14, 2010 - 5:20 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Antony

I would say your assumptions are right on:)

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By lisa z (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #417) on Friday, May 14, 2010 - 3:06 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Well then, the moral of the story is.....Do not rent in the Belnam area.
The residents can keep their secrets, I will keep my money.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Lloyd Haskell (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #556) on Friday, May 14, 2010 - 3:59 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Is it me or is Bonaire losing its "innocence"

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By YucatanPat (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #445) on Friday, May 14, 2010 - 5:13 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

yup, and the day I have to bars on the windows of my condo, the next day I sell it!

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Vince DePietro-www.bonairebeachcondo.com (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #2994) on Friday, May 14, 2010 - 6:23 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

[yup, and the day I have to bars on the windows of my condo, the next day I sell it]

Amen on that Patrick! I can certainly empathize with your point of view.
Bars don't bother some folks, but it does me.
That was the main reason why I sold my condo on St Croix many many years ago.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jim Early (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #2) on Friday, May 14, 2010 - 8:44 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Vince, its funny how people's perceptions of things differ. Here I am sitting in my home on St. Croix (no bars on my windows by the way)thinking I wish I would have started reading this board before we booked our trip to Bonaire in June. No doubt we have our own crime problems here but in the past when the issue of crime came up, a typical response by our friends here was that "crime is an issue anywhere in the Caribbean". To that I normally responded "not on Bonaire". Now, after reading this board for a couple of weeks, I see that I was evidently full of crap. My wife and I vacationed in Bonaire several times a year throughout the late 80s and 90s and thought we had a pretty good grasp on life in Bonaire. We originally planned to move there but eventually decided it was just too difficult for someone from the US. We looked around and discovered that St. Croix was the ideal spot for us and have never regretted our move here. But Bonaire was our first love and we always placed it on a pedestal when comparing it to other islands. While I am still looking forward to our first trip back to Bonaire in 10 years, I am now wondering if I really want to do any shore dives and risk my vehicle being broken into, which would ruin the experience. I never worried about it before but now...And purchasing full insurance for the vehicle? I have never done that anywhere in the Caribbean but now I am thinking it might be a good idea on Bonaire. Anyway, back to my original point, I always felt perfectly safe on Bonaire in the past but now I am concerned about the petty crime affecting my vacation. Here on St. Croix I feel pretty safe and don't really worry about petty crime, although it certainly happens.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Fid Chinoy (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #181) on Saturday, May 15, 2010 - 12:04 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

The people who keep droning on about crime on Bonaire need to get some perspective.

Where else can you walk anywhere day or night, including beaches and dark abandoned roads without any fear of being robbed or otherwise assulted?

The way some people make it sound you would think you need a bulletproof wetsuit and armed guards just to survive.

Who on this board hasn't had something stolen from them. I have had my passport, cash, credit cards, two cars, several laptops, cellphones and on and on stolen also..........however never on Bonaire. It was very annoying, frustrating and inconvenient and I also ranted and raved for a few hours or a day at the most.

In the end big deal. My life did not end or become forever altered. How many people here have either been a victim of violent crime or had someone close to them fall victim to violent crime? That is something worthy of discussion. Physical and/or psychological trauma and damage are things that cannot be replaced at your local mall.

Bonaire is one of the safest places I have ever had the privilege of going to. Dramatic posts of the horror and tragedy suffered over having a hat, T-shirt, camera, passport or sandwich stolen are pathetic.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Molamola (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #756) on Saturday, May 15, 2010 - 1:13 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

If I were to do a shore dive, leaving the vehicle, I'd leave the windows rolled down, and some cookies for any thief. Owell! Stuff happens in isolated places.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Antony Bond (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #670) on Saturday, May 15, 2010 - 5:58 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Fid.

While I share your feelings for perspective, I believe that the point being made is more to do with the swift escalation of crime & the inability to control it.

Bonaire is a tiny island where the bad guys are generally known to the Police. Raids on the homes of these guys usually turns up a cornucopia of loot. Most of the stuff that is stolen leaves the island. The Police also know how and where. I am sure that you have seen the dealers sat outside Karels late at night with their mobile phones, passing small packages to kids on scooters for delivery.

I am not here to bad mouth the Police, they have a difficult job. However, there has to be a reason why a few dozen bad guys can not be kept in check. Is it through lack of resources, is it because of family connections or is it because of intimidation from drug dealers? I don't know. Maybe it's a little of all three.

What I do know is that many of those questions could be answered by temporarily bringing in a supplementary Police force from either the Netherlands or another island. That would at least eliminate the possibility of family pressure or intimidation.

While Bonaire is still relatively safe, it does seem to be encouraging a disproportionate amount of crime relative to it's population.

Although crime figures do not seem to be available for Bonaire, I could use the island of Orkney as a comparison. This Scottish island has a population of around 20,000 and quite a high rate of unemployment. It is seen as quite a deprived region because of its isolated location. Despite that, the crime rates for 2009 read as: Robbery: 0 - Burglary: 6 - Sexual Assault: 1 - Theft from a motor vehicle: 0 - Shoplifting: 9. The majority of crime is drink, drugs or public order related.

There is no reason why it is not possible to Police a population of 14,000. Of course there will be isolated incidents but generally speaking, crimes against the person and home should be in single figures. If that can't be achieved, then the system needs reviewing.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Antony Bond (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #671) on Saturday, May 15, 2010 - 6:12 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Whoops! Double post........

(Message edited by Bondy on May 15, 2010)

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Vince DePietro-www.bonairebeachcondo.com (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #2995) on Saturday, May 15, 2010 - 6:28 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Whoa Jim, relax... Admittedly, it's been more than 10 years since I set foot on St Croix and also St C was a lot easier to get to from the states than Bonaire back then. I owned there for over 5 years in the 80's and vacationed there a lot longer and was involved with promoting tourism to the island.

As I indicated in my posting, I sold because of what I perceived as the escalating crime issues & the fact that the seaside condo I owned in La Grande Princess had just voted to install iron grates/bars on ALL the windows. I am really not trying to denigrate St Croix (which IMHO is a much more geographically beautiful island than Bonaire)and am sorry you took my posting that way.

You are correct about perceptions and mine is; in the area of crime nothing in Bonaire's entire history even approaches in magnitude/severity what transpired on St C during the infamous Fountain Valley incident. When I was on St C we could purchase bottles of Cruzan rum for less than $1. Alcoholism was rampant which fueled many of the problems on the island. As one co owner astutely commented to me one day, "really it's like the wild west here". A remark I never forgot.

As far as your upcoming trip to Bonaire in June I am quite confident you will have an excellent time and some great diving. At the dive sites, practice the policies which have been extolled upon ad infinitum on this board, windows down, doors unlocked, nothing of any value in your truck and you'll be fine. I'll look forward to reading your trip report.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bill LaBarge (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #255) on Saturday, May 15, 2010 - 7:25 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

I may be one of those considered "droaning" on... I will say this.... I was on Bonaire for two weeks... I did shore dives every day... we leave nothing of value in the trucks and leave the windows open.... we even had a cooler for some cold decompression syrup.... nothing touched.... never had anything stolen in 38 yrs... I will continue to dive Bonaire and feel very safe walking around at ANY time... the new issues need to be address and not kept in the Shadows.... when I went to St. Croix... there were bank robberies and drive by shootings.. We went to a softball game and one of the locals asked us if we were crazy... I was so used to Bonaire I thought we'd be safe.... and we were... but the shore diving in Bonaire is soooooo much better than St. Croix... so my mantra droan is.... I love Bonaire....

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Lizard0924 (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #433) on Saturday, May 15, 2010 - 12:18 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Fid is right about needing perspective. Bonaire is a pretty safe island. On our last trip I had no qualms about jogging solo in the early morning hours. I would never do something like that in Jamaica (or even many areas of Seattle for that matter).

The petty crime is just a pain to deal with and it is frustrating that it can't seem to be controlled.

As for property owners in Belnem not wanting to share info, I agree that it makes one question the desirability to rent there.

At this rate, the only safe place to stay will be Vince's third floor escape. :)

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jim Early (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #3) on Saturday, May 15, 2010 - 12:57 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Hey Vince,

I KNOW that crime on St. Croix, particularly violent crime, is much worse than Bonaire. I also KNOW that the only crime I have to worry about on Bonaire is petty crime. However, I guess I am used to the reality of St. Croix and don't really worry about it anymore, although I am certainly aware of the way things are here. My comments were meant to convey my disappointment that my vision of Bonaire was evidently no longer grounded in reality. I am probably different than many who post on this board in that diving is no longer the primary focus of my vacation. My idea of a great day on Bonaire is going to an isolated beach for an easy shore dive with my wife in the late morning and then relaxing on that same beach for a couple of hours with a book and a few bottles of "cold decompression syrup". Maybe a light lunch at a casual beach bar somewhere with all our dive stuff in the vehicle and then back to our condo to relax some more and then out to dinner. A day like this requires a cooler, beer, water, beach chairs, towels, flip flops, hat, shirt, and a little money, since my good looks have never gotten me a free lunch yet. All of this stuff I need to leave in the vehicle while I am diving. I used to do this on Bonaire and never thought twice about it, although I knew that car break-ins happened once in a while even 20 years ago. Now, I am trying to get a handle on how great the risk is. Would it be the end of the world if I got back to the car and it was all gone? Of course not, but it would certainly put a damper on the day. And Fid, in my 55 years my only personal experience with crime is that my wife had her wallet stolen (our own rookie mistake) on St. Maarten in 1987 and we were robbed at gunpoint while dining at a beachside restaurant a couple of years ago. Of the two events, having the wallet stolen while we were on the beach was by far the most aggravating and time consuming incident and I would like to avoid another petty theft on this vacation if I could.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Vince DePietro-www.bonairebeachcondo.com (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #2996) on Saturday, May 15, 2010 - 1:33 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Jim.. I have no doubts that you will have a great vacation on Bonaire! A little caution goes a long way. I know what you mean about diving. There are days I don't even dive, & others when one-a-day will suffice. If you haven't been on the island in 10 years, a construction boom started approximately 6 years ago. So you'll notice many changes I'm sure. I can tell you unequivocally that the quality of the food in the restaurants has dramatically increased from the old days.
However for me, the boom-a-rang shape of the island is quite symbolic as to how Bonaire affects many folks.

And truth be told, I have MANY fond memories of my time spent on beautiful St Croix which was the first island I ever visited in the Caribbean.

**Liz** LOL..I'm sure you know as well as I that there are many fine properties (and very safe) to stay in Belnem area. But thanks for your vote of confidence. :)

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Neil Harvey (BonaireTalker - Post #46) on Friday, May 21, 2010 - 6:20 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Several years ago after our first visit I was upset with the local blogers saying that crime does not happen on Bonaire. But now I think the crime blog has gone to far the other way. It seems to me that people are out there doing there best to make Bonaire crime capital of the world. Lets face it US citizen you can't go any where in the United States where crime is not higher than in Bonaire. If you drove your car and parked it with the windows down it would not be there when you got back and the insurance company would be doing a thief report on your stupidity. I look forward to our next visit coming soon and I will follow simply rules to reduce my chances. And if I catch someone that wants something of mine more than me then I will be more than happy to take them diving.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ron (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #208) on Saturday, May 22, 2010 - 9:06 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Neil this sort of thing does not happen here. Lead travels much faster than a rock.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Daniel Ray (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #1) on Thursday, June 3, 2010 - 8:44 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Wow, I always thought of bonaire as safe and secure, i am doing a family vacation on the Island and now I am rethinking this. I no that there is crime anywhere you go but boniare was a safe place. I hope that all of you stay safe.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Vince DePietro-www.bonairebeachcondo.com (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #3051) on Thursday, June 3, 2010 - 9:28 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Daniel..Welcome to BT. I for one have traveled extensively throughout the Caribbean for the last 30 years. Notwithstanding some of the tales of woe which you read here, truth be told Bonaire is one of the safest islands in the entire region.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Eric M. "CamMan" (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1166) on Thursday, June 3, 2010 - 10:41 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Daniel, I second Vince's info. There is crime everywhere. The crime on Bonaire is very low grade compared to most places and it is fairly easy to avoid if you take some minor precautions. As a recent Bonaire visitor, I definitely would not discourage anyone from going there for a vacation.

e.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By lisa z (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #422) on Friday, June 4, 2010 - 3:29 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

We just spent 2 weeks on the island. We stayed at the Bellafonte and felt very safe.
Never left anything of value in our truck, but then again, we really don't bring much of value on our trip. I'm always carrying my camera with me because I'm afraid to miss a photo op.
And we use our heads.
I must admit, the fact that some people have been robbed while sleeping in their hotels/houses is a major problem.
Yes, there is crime everywhere, but here at home (at least where I live)I know the police take such things far more seriously than the Bonaire police force.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By lisa z (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #423) on Friday, June 4, 2010 - 3:30 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Forgot to mention. Not only will I return to Bonaire, our next trip is already planned.

 


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