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Diving Bonaire: Crime in Bonaire....
Bonaire Talk: Diving Bonaire: Archives: Archives 1999-2005: Archives - 2003-05-01 to 2004-02-15: Crime in Bonaire....
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ed Young (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #1) on Sunday, June 29, 2003 - 7:39 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

We visited Bonaire a couple of years ago. There was some petty theft that was taking place at the time on a guaranteed, regular basis. Park your vehicle to go for a dive, and presto, windows locked or not, EVERYTHING was gone. The locals called it "petty" theft (with a little grin) because they knew it was a couple of kids. But, loosing ANYTHING of mine to this type of activity is NOT petty. We would love to visit again IF law enforcement has corrected this situation or the little.....let's say, boys, have grown out of this. Or, have some other delinquents taken their place? Would someone be so kind as to give me a current assessment?

Thank you in advance.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By JIM KENNEDY (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #143) on Sunday, June 29, 2003 - 9:21 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Ed~

Sorry to hear about the petty thief from your vehicle while in Bonaire. But like all places in the world, including Texas & Bonaire or my state of Illinois, petty crime is everywhere. To say there is no petty crime in Bonaire would be an inaccurate statement. There are certain steps one can do to help prevent items from being stolen from your vehicle and one of the main ideas are not to leave anything in the vehicle to begin with, roll down the windows, and take the keys with you. Step two may be leave a person on security duty while shore diving (which probably wouldn't be my favorite-missing a dive!) Unless one captures the thief in the act or at least locates the stolen merchandise there is very little police can do...just like in the States. If you don't have an eyewitness, or the thief with the "goods" I'm afraid your out of luck...

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Wally and Eva (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #160) on Sunday, June 29, 2003 - 10:08 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

We have never had a problem

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Marcus L. Barnes (BonaireTalker - Post #42) on Sunday, June 29, 2003 - 10:33 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Two trips to Bonaire with a 3d trip scheduled Oct 03. We take the same basic actions as Jim mentioned above; we have had no problems and do not expect any going forward as long as the precautions mentioned many, many times on Bonaire Talk are taken. In my opinion and expirience, petty theft on Bonaire is not a guaranteed event. Have a good dive.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ed Young (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #2) on Sunday, June 29, 2003 - 11:13 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Hello Jim, Wally & Eva, and Marcus,

Thanks for responding. I just knew I'd get a quick response when I signed up for this forum. I could tell this was an excellent forum when I first saw it, just a few hours ago. It looked very user friendly and up-to-date. You folks must really love Bonaire, as we did when we visited, and want to visit again. Except for the subject I referred to in my first post. Jim, I realize what you are saying, I do not have unrealistic expectations about crime, anywhere. But, when we were there 2 years ago, we were told that we could COUNT on this happening to us 99% of the time! And they were right! And so, while we were there, we heeded their warning and did as you are now recommending, don't leave anything in the vehicle. But, you got to admit, this is a major hassle. I realize theft can happen anywhere, but, when there are certain places that you can "count on it" happening, most people who CAN, DO try to avoid those places. Maybe the problem we encountered 2 years ago has passed as a fling for these particular thugs, and y'all (Texas term)just don't realize what I'm talking about. But, that's all I'm trying to find out....is this same situation still occurring today? As Wally & Eva say, they have "never" had a problem, but does never include two years ago? How long ago are you talking about?

One couple we were diving with said, that one time they went on a dive and one of them didn't feel like diving once they got to the sight, so she laid down in the back seat of the truck to rest while her hubby dove. She said she heard someone running up to the truck, and a young man reached inside the truck, OVER HER HEAD, and grabbed a camera. She also grabbed the camera and yelled "HEY!" and the guy let go and took off. While this was happening, another young man reached in another window and grabbed some sunglasses! And we heard story after story like this.

I know if we leave nothing in the vehicle, nothing can be stolen, obviously. But, again, this is a MAJOR inconvenience for tourists, and therefore, I was wondering if Law Enforcement has taken any action to reduce this situation from occurring, from say 99% of the time to even less than say 50%, or something more reasonable? Does anyone see what I'm saying?

Maybe I should ask the question this way.... if some friends and I went diving in Bonaire this Fall, 2003, and locked our vehicle with some "stuff" in it, what would anyone say the odds are that the windows would be busted out and ALL the contents taken by vandals?????

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Wally and Eva (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #162) on Sunday, June 29, 2003 - 11:22 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

(1) Not 2 years ago.
(2) Take me with you and I will guard your car :-)

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Peter Cabus (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #191) on Monday, June 30, 2003 - 2:16 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Hi Ed,

Odds: it depends on the dive site. Some sites are more popular with the "vandals". If you see lots of glass from broken windows at a dive site, you're chances are pretty high that something will be missing. One site that comes to mind is Karpata.

Two years ago small things dissapeard from our car on 4 occasions (5 week trip). I'm talking about very old sneakers, bottle of suntan lotion, little bag with some reading material and the license plates of our car. So nothing of real value (except for the license plates).

This year we went for six weeks and NO PROBLEM at all.

My advice: DON'T leave anything in the car and keep the windows open. If you need to take a camera or something else of value, go dive with the dive bus. They will take care of your gear at no charge, and you can get some nice refreshments after your dive.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ed Young (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #3) on Monday, June 30, 2003 - 9:54 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Thanks everyone,

It sounds like my first impression of Bonaire two years ago was during a temporary heightening of these types of events. Apparently the kids grew out of it for the most part. It was so bad when we were there, some used to make a game out of it. They'd park their vehicle, then go a short distance into the bushes and wait. Sure enough, just 5 to 10 minutes later these two young men would come running up to the vehicle grabbing furiously at whatever they could reach. Then the chase began. As I said, you could count on it.

Later, when driving back to the hotel, we'd see the kids on their bicycles laughing at us as we drove by. This part of the trip was no vacation. It seemed I could never figure out a way to leave NOTHING in the vehicle. Didn't want to dive with a towel, change of shoes, drinks and snacks. So......where can I stuff these?....Hmmmm, I wonder if they're watching me hide them, right now. As Peter says, it's not a lot of money, I just say it's a major inconvenience. I'll close this thread by saying, that it concerned me that the citizens, businesses and Law Enforcement we're so laid back about it. We complained to both. Even the two Law Enforcement officers we talked to said they knew it was happening, but couldn't do much about it. I can appreciate the "laidbackness" of the island, but geez. Oh well, maybe it's just me getting old and grumpy. Or maybe I got overly sensitized to vandalism while working as a Cave Specialist for the Texas Parks & Wildlife Dept. Tesosterone levels in the male adolescent definitely is a problem.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Renea (BonaireTalker - Post #71) on Monday, June 30, 2003 - 4:50 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Ed,

We went this past May for a week. We were parked at one shore dive, left all windows down and doors unlocked. We came up from the dive and they had rummaged through everything in the truck. They took my husband's prescription glasses and our sun hats. This was the first time this had happened to us in the 5 times we have been to Bonaire. If you wear glasses, you might want to put them in a water tight box and take them with you. Or, leave them out in the open. My husband's were in a yellow case that I'm sure they thought had money or something else valuable in it.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mary Wills (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #7) on Monday, June 30, 2003 - 6:49 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Ed,
Things we leave in the car:
cheap flip flops
ratty dive towel
1/2 bottle sea drops for masks
disposable water bottles
and some very replaceable cases for masks and computers.
Seb leaves his old pair of prescription sunglasses.
We ALWAYS leave the windows open.
We have never had personal items stolen besides a small baggie of licorice cats and about 2 guilders that I left in the ash tray.
As mentioned by Peter above, if you are so concerned about your stuff in your car, dive where the Dive Bus is parked. The Dive Bus has lockers and you can check them out at http://www.bonphototours.com
We have had a spare tire stolen two years ago, we now lock up our spare tire.
We usually rent a truck or a small van, both of which do not have trunks. We 'display' our used stuff and leave nothing hidden. So far, so good.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Cynde (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #7363) on Monday, June 30, 2003 - 7:49 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Mary, how did you lock your spare tire?

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mary Wills (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #10) on Tuesday, July 1, 2003 - 12:28 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Cynde, we bring along a sesame lock -- a kind of combination lock -- that has been heavily doused with WD40. We go to Kooyman, the big hardware on the main inland road out of playa heading towards Rincon. We buy a short length of chain. We chain the tire, lock it with the sesame lock, wrap the lock in a baggie and secure with either tape or a rubber band. (We left our chain on the island and we'll pick it up when we return.)
Oh, and our flip flops -- purchased in Tung Fong, A.K.A. the Island Store (according to Farid Arubi) or the Chinese store (according to other locals), right down the road from Kooyman. We figure island shoes in car = island folks driving and leave the stuff alone.
At least that's what I believe...and it seems to work for us.
Dream up your own MOJO and charm your car before you leave it on the shore.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Cynde (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #7372) on Tuesday, July 1, 2003 - 10:05 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Mary, thanks. You also reminded me that of the 6 pairs of flip flops none are to be left in the car....I need to throw that "ugly" pair in for the truck!

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John Cowperthwaite (BonaireTalker - Post #44) on Tuesday, July 1, 2003 - 11:10 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Here is one I have used for years when surfing internationally or in the US, and now while diving when on Bonaire. We tend to rent the little Hilux 4 door trucks, which are rather light. So we park at the site, I remove the keys and toss them on the ground behind the rear wheel. Liz (my fiance) drops the parking break and I push the truck onto the keys. She pulls the break and puts the truck in gear. Reverse that when leaving. This tends to work for a wallet too, but I don't carry mine just in case, only a small ziplock with some NAF inside, that I find very wet after riding in my bc for the course of the dive. I don't use this trick on pavement, but rather find a hiding place nearby. Never had a problem doing this, except one near-miss at Andrea I.

We got out of the water and there were a butt- load of people on the shore, just hanging around and sunning etc. I went to find my keys I hid on the rock wall that faces the dive site, as I had parked on hardpack. There was a small child playing with rocks, picking them up and throwing them, right in the vicinity of my keys. Long story short, he picked up my rock, I grabbed my keys, he through the rock. That was potential danger. Now I hide them (when need be) in briar patches under leaves or rocks and the like. :~o

We got ripped off a number of years ago for some money and camera. I don't leave anything in the car accept a ratty t-shirt, towels, slaps, and lens goo. Windows always down, and sunglasses threaded into the springs under the front seat (the steally-boys haven't found them yet since they don't lie on the floorboard).

I haven't had any issues at the southern dive sites, but my junk has been looked through while diving the northern sites (anything north of town). Always carrying junk now.

John

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By seb schulherr (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #752) on Tuesday, July 1, 2003 - 5:19 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Hey, I want some of those bank type exploding cartridges in my car available to be stolen that paint you all yellow or red. Is that Dutch legal? Seems like very few would solve the problem pretty quickly.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Wally and Eva (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #169) on Wednesday, July 2, 2003 - 8:26 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

I like it seb

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By seb schulherr (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #760) on Wednesday, July 2, 2003 - 10:15 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

I wonder if you could get them to look like cans of Amstel?

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Daniel Senie (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #258) on Wednesday, July 2, 2003 - 11:17 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Dutch law would probably land you in jail for 10 years for the entrapment and injury of a criminal.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By seb schulherr (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #761) on Wednesday, July 2, 2003 - 12:19 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Not if you spread around a little cash it wouldn't.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Wally and Eva (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #173) on Wednesday, July 2, 2003 - 6:44 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Exploding Amstals full of paint.....trundling off to the shop....he he hee

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Michael Gaunt (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #483) on Monday, July 7, 2003 - 3:10 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post


Well, I'm a little late to the discussion, but to add my 2 cents worth we were on the bad end of some theft when we were on vacation last August. I'm not going to name where we were staying because it really was a nice place and what happened to us could have happened just about anywhere.

My wife and I had gotten back from a night dive at Salt Pier and hung all our gear up on the pegs outside our bungalow just like we had all the previous nights. In the morning I was starting to pack everything up to head back out when I started to notice things missing. Mostly, we lost snorkeling equipment. The final tally:

3 dive lights,
2 fins
2 snorkles
2 masks
and my shoes.

They left the skins/wetsuits,BC's, etc (we always keep the regs and computers inside no matter what.

Thank goodness insurance replaced it all and we have a really nice Bonaire Police Report as a souvenier. We were diving with Photo Tours and they were gracious enough to loan us everything we needed at no charge.

The people we dove Salt Pier with were staying in another bungalow on the other side of the parking lot. When they got back two of them went to sleep and the third fell asleep on the couch watching TV. Because he fell asleep watching the TV, he didn't lock the front door. In the morning, they found that someone had actually come into their place and taken dive logs, wallets and dive gear. The wallets and dive logs were found on the side of the building, complete except for the cash.

The lesson to be learned... never, never, NEVER leave your stuff on the pegs outside like you're supposed to (even for just 4 hours). Always take it inside. It's really a common sense thing and we should have known better, but we were tired and didn't feel like dealing with any of it when we got back.

We've never had problems with theft from the trucks, but I agree with everyone else about not leaving anything of value and rolling down the windows. The most I ever left in the truck was a nasty old t-shirt and a crappy towel.

All things considered, I still consider Bonaire to be a very safe and relatively crime free island.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By JIM KENNEDY (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #152) on Monday, July 7, 2003 - 5:47 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

With all the thiefs that happen on Bonaire what happens to the thieves when they are caught? There has to be at least one person caught stealing at some point! So what happens to them?

jiminiŽ

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By DIVER DEBBI (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #312) on Monday, July 7, 2003 - 11:35 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

good question....any answers from an informed Bonairian? I thought maybe there is no detention center for youth, so the younger culprets are not penalized in anyway and so no deterent there...am I correct ? also Dutch law is diffrent from the states

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jan Kloos (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #10) on Tuesday, July 8, 2003 - 9:26 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

If the thiefs are arrested on the scene or elsewhere with the stolen goods in their possesion,they will be arrested and prosecuted.
Penalties can be very high in Bonaire.
The DA will normaly go for they highest if they are known delinquents.
I don't know exactly what the penalty will be but 6 months (!) imprisonment is possible.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jamie Barber (BonaireTalker - Post #55) on Tuesday, July 8, 2003 - 11:55 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Bonaire stole our hearts!

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By gregg brewer (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #285) on Tuesday, July 8, 2003 - 12:31 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Can any of the folks who reside in Bonaire give us an idea of how many of the thieves have been caught in the last year and a synopsis of their penalties? It would seem to me that it would be fairly simple to catch them if the local police made an effort (stake out at Karpata or any of the sites). I don't consider this a marine park responsibility...thievery is a police issue.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Wally and Eva (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #178) on Tuesday, July 8, 2003 - 7:25 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

What happened to the guy caught about 4 months ago.
Best I recall he first opted for a high speed chase.
On a small island....go figure.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Kathy Emerick (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #2) on Thursday, July 24, 2003 - 8:20 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

An unusual story, in fact the manager at our hotel recommended we submit a police report that it was so unusual. For an entire 2 weeks of diving no other problems, always left the windows down and doors unlocked in our rental truck.
However on 7/18 while diving at Oil Slick Leap. We left a couple of towels a mesh bag with our sunglasses, shoes, a small "tool kit" (O rings, fin straps, Scuba Tool, screw driver, small wrench) and a few other "non Valuable" items under a bush, NOT visible from the road. Unfortunately the "Pirates" attacked by sea. About 40 min into our dive still at about 50ft. A small wooden boat started doing circles above us around our bubbles. The boat then went straight into shore one person in the water up the ladder, the boat then returned to do circles above us then back to shore to pick up the partner. It all happened in a matter of about 5 min. All our stuff was strew about, left with 2 pair of Sunglasses and of course the tools. I do not disagree that we never should have left anything anywhere but NEVER expected this. This was the ONLY problem we had over a 2-week period, I would dive Oil Slick leap tomorrow if I could and just keep my sunglasses in the pocket of my BC.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Carole Baker (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #2476) on Thursday, July 24, 2003 - 10:20 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

I believe someone else made reference to these two Aqua Banditos in a prior thread....same "MO", as they say. Not playing on fair ground...no pun intended. Sorry to hear about your incident. I would be very upset and probably spend days setting up surveillance at spots previously hit. One of these days someone WILL run into these punks and the fur will fly...this will not be a good confrontation, either, I would imagine. CArole

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ed Young (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #4) on Thursday, July 24, 2003 - 10:31 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Reading the last post, it sounds like the juveniles have grown up and got themselves a boat. Probably stole it.

Ya know, this could have been serious. What if someone had to make an emergency ascent when the boat was overhead?

Hey! I just had an idea....pass the word...let's start doing some "hiding in the bushes" of our own. No, not for a physical confrontation. Simply take your digital camera or better yet, camcorder, and get everything documented and take it to law enforcement and let's see what they do. It sounds to me as if some action needs to be taken. A boat overhead of divers can be fatal!

Next time I'm there I'll set out several dives and try to catch these ____'s on video! Please, let's fire up this thread again to get the word out to as many as possible willing to sacrifice some precious vacation/dive time to help us all in the long run. It will all-telling to see what law enforcement does about it. Without their support it will be a lost cause. If that's the case, unfortunately I would no longer visit Bonaire until they took this problem seriously!

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ed Young (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #5) on Thursday, July 24, 2003 - 10:57 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

I went back and reread Kathy's post and she says... "An unusual story, in fact the manager at our hotel recommended we submit a police report that it was so unusual." ... YOU SEE, THIS is the mentality in Bonaire and THIS is why I started this thread. You see, this constant petty thievery in Bonaire is looked upon as "normal"! BUT, have an "unusual" incident and they suggest you report it to the police! Damn, we all should report every incident to the police. How big is the island? How far can it be to the police station? Either WE are't telling the police, or the POLICE don't care, or BOTH. But, we need to do our part in order to find this out. Please report all of these incidents to the police and take the time to photo/video these jokers and show the police who they are and see if they'll perform their function!

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Wally and Eva (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #194) on Thursday, July 24, 2003 - 10:59 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

If I catch them I beat the tar outa them. Be like being back home with my no account cousins. :-)
(oops failed Eva's best efforts at civilizing me)

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ed Young (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #6) on Monday, July 28, 2003 - 9:29 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

I just had a better idea. Rather than spending precious vacation time to video these turkeys and showing the police, I've thought of a way to reverse this situation back into a LOCAL problem. Do as we have been told by the locals, leave nothing in the vehicle, EXCEPT, roll the windows UP and LOCK the doors. When the vehicle rental agencies get hit in the pocketbook enough, replacing broken windows, I'll bet you the Islanders will change their lackadaisical attitude about these little ----'s and put an end to their shenanigans!

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By C. Kritagent (BonaireTalker - Post #96) on Tuesday, July 29, 2003 - 3:51 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Uhhhhh Ed... where did you get the info that the rental agencies pay for replacing broken windows ??? You will pay...either loss of your deductible (most often) or increase prices for vehicle rental.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ed Young (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #7) on Wednesday, July 30, 2003 - 11:27 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

C. Kritagent,

When I went back to see what I had typed in my post that you are referring to, I realized you are exactly right. However, what I typed and how it sounded when I reread it isn't exactly what I was thinking. I'll try to explain better. My wife and I operate a very successful business, too, and there are lots of damages in business that you simply cannot recover from. As a matter of fact it doesn't have to be a business, it happens in all our personal lives. None of us (except for the insurance companies) ever fully recover from any type of our "damages." Your right, the insurance companies pay for the actual window glass and labor to replace it, but the down time of the product, loss of income, etc., they do not. We are never made "whole" again, as the court system states it.

Believe me, the car rental agencies would get VERY tired of putting up with this and they'd do something about it. You are also right when you say they could raise prices. However, this rarely works in isolated cases. In other words, even if every car rental agency in Bonaire raised their prices, the whole of Bonaire would get a lot of grief from visitors when they encounter these prices as compared to what travelers are used to encountering.

Anyway, my tactics are definitely not a simple, overnight solution. And maybe I'm just talking to hear myself talk and make myself feel like there really is a way to combat this, what is in my opinion, the one and only major problem I encounter when visiting Boniare. I say again, it's just incredible, to me, that this happens only or mostly to divers, which is Bonaire's biggest industry. It seems they'd put forth a major effort to stop it.

For example, in contrast, Cayman Brac has almost zero crime. They say it's such a small island if anyone were doing something like this they'd know exactly who it was and put a lump on their head. Anyway, to whoever cares, if we encounter this problem on our next trip to Bonaire, we won't be back. I like to enjoy a relaxed vacation atmosphere and not play a cat and mouse game of hiding things in the bushes. Wouldn't it be nice to have a cool soda after a dive. Well you can if they didn't see you stash your ice cooler in the bushes. Wait....I don't see any bushes at this dive site. Well, we'll have to pick another dive site or take this stuff back to the hotel room.

Isn't anyone else tired of this, or am I just getting old and crotchety? I still believe more can be done toward this end.

Signed, For What it's Worth.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jeff (BonaireTalker - Post #11) on Wednesday, July 30, 2003 - 12:40 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

To all who are concerned with Bonaire crime I
have some questions.
Have any of you done the following at home?????
Purchased a home security system,an automobile
alarm,a Club,detachable faced car radio,a new dead bolt lock,bike lock,perhaps even a gun etc.. Icould go on
but i think you have the idea.
We all have adapted to crime in our everyday
life, so why is that so hard to do on vacation.
( I bet you even lock your hotel door too.I hope)

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Marc @ CrystalVisions (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1136) on Wednesday, July 30, 2003 - 1:29 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

First off, Ed, let me confirm that you as a client will pay for a broken window; it's not covered by CDW insurance, and although theft insurance (as far as damage to the car goes) is being looked at at the moment, there will always be a deductible. Are you willing to do that just to make a point?
Secondly, what makes it so hard to use common sense? If I hear (as I sometimes do) that people's creditcards have been stolen from their cars, I think... Excuse me?? Why was it in there in the first place? It says in big letters on the dashboard: "Don't leave valuables in the car". Even if you're just leaving an empty bag, you're giving burglars a reason to break in, because they don't know it's empty.
Thirdly, make no mistake that everyone here is very aware of this problem and that we are looking at ways to counter it. But most of the time a tourist will *not* go to the police, which means that a) their statistics don't match reality and b) they have no grounds to arrest people. The hospitality sector of Bonaire, together with the justice department, are looking at ways to turn this around. Let me tell you that the car rental companies are already very tired with this, not because of the costs, but because of the unhappy experience for the customers.

That being said, people sometimes forget that when you rent a car, that car is your responsibility for the time you drive it. It's not more than normal to take the same care of it as you would with your own, just like Jeff just said.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jamie Barber (BonaireTalker - Post #58) on Wednesday, July 30, 2003 - 3:06 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

So please give me any day in Bonaire to try and foil attempts at petty crime than any day in Baltimore where I can hear the gunshots nightly. I live on a sailboat sometimes in the harbor which is not too far from the urban projects, and I would relish a relocation to the "mean streets" of Bonaire. Now if only I can figure out a way round the high-seas piracy that occurs in the southern Carribean in a regular basis I'd be setting sail tomorrow.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ed Young (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #8) on Wednesday, July 30, 2003 - 5:22 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Marc@CrystalVisions,

FINALLY...THANK YOU VERY MUCH! YOU JUST SAID EVERYTHING I WAS HOPING TO HEAR!

1) ....[theft insurance (as far as damage to the car goes) is being looked at at the moment]....

2) ....[make no mistake that everyone here is very aware of this problem and that we are looking at ways to counter it]....

3) ....[most of the time a tourist will *not* go to the police, which means that a) their statistics don't match reality and b) they have no grounds to arrest people]....

4) ....[The hospitality sector of Bonaire, together with the justice department, are looking at ways to turn this around]....

5) ....[Let me tell you that the car rental companies are already very tired with this, not because of the costs, but because of the unhappy experience for the customers]...

You are JUST the person I've been looking to hear from since I started this thread...a Bonaire resident (I assume that from your profile) that knows what's going on. Can I deduce that you are also in the rental car business, because you said in your post, "you as a client"? Sorry if I got your feathers all ruffled, you are to be commended on stepping forward to comment on the latest happenings in Bonaire.

There have been a lot of posts in this thread, some with the same old common sense "band aide" suggestions to the problem of which I speak, and some in plain jest. I was beginning to believe that there were no locals interested in discussing the matter.

You see, all I was trying to do is stir the pot to get more people do more about the situation, IF IT WASN'T ALREADY BEING DONE. Like you said, most don't report these things. PEOPLE, IF YOU DON'T GET INVOLVED THINGS WILL NOT GET ANY BETTER....ANYWHERE. Report crimes everywhere they occur, it's the very least we can do. I'm just picking on Bonaire at the moment because I've been there, experienced the problem, and would like to come back....to a better Bonaire.

Just call me an old '70's activist, but I'm doing the same thing in my own neighborhood. I just find that I get better responses from people if you stir the pot a certain way, rather than just asking a simple question. Get people riled up. We really can make a difference in the world if we have a (legal) plan....but you gotta execute it. It gets a little crazy around here and I work close with the police department for a while and things calm down for a while. When I see it starting up again, so do I. That's why I can still live here. Otherwise, I'd have to move. When you get my age you just get sick of all the vandalism and theft and violence in the world to the point of considering taking the law into your own hands sometimes. But, every once in a while I just watch an old Bronson or Eastwood movie and get it out of my system.

OK everyone, just because Marc says this is being worked on, don't sit back and see what happens...take action yourself by making any incidents you are aware of known to the police. Not just in Bonaire, but everywhere you go.

Thanks again Marc, for the report, see you in Bonaire.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John Cowperthwaite (BonaireTalker - Post #45) on Wednesday, July 30, 2003 - 6:42 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

The quick and dirty answer is fairly simple, but doesn't solve the problem. The car rental companies could bolt on the abs plastic or steel workman's lock boxes to the beds of the hilux vehicles. Issue the keys with the car keys, and viola a locking safe of sorts for whilst your diving. The problem is, this is a fix not a solution.

I too am tired of hiding my keys, but continue to visit the beautiful places in the world. Because like much of life, there are two sides to every thing. With the huge amounts of natural beauty (the plus), you have to deal with crime (the minus). Everywhere I travel in the world has this plus/minus relationship. It's not always crime, sometimes its $300/night for a cornhole of a room, or maybe it's a 28hour flight schedule (door to door) in each direction.

Certainly one can go other places, but you will be giving up something more than just the price of admission. I absolutely love the underwater world of Bonaire, and haven't found many rivals on this planet. For the food, the people (I have met), the sheer beauty, I'll continue to hide my keys.

Regards-John

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By seb schulherr (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #829) on Thursday, July 31, 2003 - 12:03 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

The car rental companies are very tired of the thefts, they are eating up all the profits fixing slashed gas tank tubes and such. I think the problem may be that a segment of the population feel that the theft is OK, because they would rather the tourists all go away.

 


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