I hesitate to add this message because on my first visit to Bonaire, I fell in love with the island, the people, and the diving (best in my experience). I have every intention of returning and of recommending the island, but my recommendation will include a word of caution because of both the below event and the general sense I got of how it would turn out with regards to the police investigation.

We were staying in a private home, in the guest house. Four of us in the house, all tourists, but one of us has been a regular visitor to Bonaire, staying there for weeks at a time for decades. The guest house was secured and locked when we left for our afternoon dive. It was our third day of diving, and each day we left the house around the same time and returned roughly at the same time, returning well before dark.

This day we returned to find two broken windows which didn't work for the thieves because of bolts and bars. This should have stopped them but it didn't. They instead took the entire sliding glass door off, even though that door was locked and secured with a metal pin at the top. The door was basically bent out with a crow bar.

Of the four of us, I was the only one with nothing stolen, by some miracle. So, no, I have no police report. There is one however, done by the person with the most stolen, likely nearly $5,000 or so in electronic equipment.

This break-in occurred in the middle of the afternoon in a residential area (not a bit deserted, a mere three blocks off the waterfront). We learned it was not the only one that week (last week).

What disturbed me even more than the brazen actions of the thieves was the impression I got from those among us with extensive ties to Bonaire that the thieves would likely not be caught and this is not unusual on Bonaire. This upset me and my friends, who also had never been on Bonaire before.

Again, I loved the island and will return, hopefully soon but I would hope measures are being taken to stop what was told to me was a well-known problem with crime (but, as also told, non-violent crime). Sadly, locking your doors is not enough, seemingly.

Mary,
welcome to BT. Very sorry to hear about your experience. Where we stay on Bon has been broken into a few times through the years--never while we are there.
I live in a tourist community in Alberta Canada. People--it would seem--are the same the world over. We have the occasional theft from hotel rooms as well as vehicle break ins. In almost all cases there has been something left out on a table.
Was there a safe were you where staying? Did you take advantage of the safe?
I am always a little confused when someone leaves $5000.00 lying around and is surprised when it is gone --I know that the kids in my neighborhood would just walk by $5000.00.


As for the comment "well-known problem"--who the people who put temptation in front of people?

Mary--I apologize for my crabby attitude towards your post. I do sincerely hope that they catch the little s**t heads. I do not condone the theft.

regards
Dave

First - welcome Mary to BT and glad that this incident will not keep you from Bonaire again. It does indeed suck that it happened and i too hope that they catch the person(s) that did this.

Dave - Mary actually said that it was $5,000 worth of electronics, not $5,000. So I would suspect that we are talking computer(s), camera(s), blackberry, phone, etc. They also seemed to REALLY want it so they must have seen something at some time.

Anywho - I am sorry that this happened to you and friends but glad that you all were safe - property can be replaced but people cannot.

I am sorry to hear this. Despite comments to the contrary, this is proliferating.

In my neighbourhood, a couple had their house broken into. They had been here for just a few weeks and were looking to buy their own house and settle on Bonaire. The theft was unfortunate enough but then they were intimidated by the culprits after the event.

Needless to say, they have returned to Holland.

There have been a series of crimes on Bonaire this year over and above the usual theft issues including assault, car jacking, mugging and threats with firearms. Last week, a tourist was raped near the Boulevard at 10pm, the rapist is to my knowledge still at large.

The fact that crime happens everywhere in the world is of little comfort to the victims.

I own my own house on Bonaire and live here all year round. It is not in my interest to spread doom and gloom. However, it would also be selfish of me to pretend that this does not happen and keep such information to myself as to not put off tourists. People have the right to information so that they can protect themselves and their property.

A few other points:

Very little money was taken, just a little that was in one person's pockets (they went through clothing). A safe was there and was used to put passports, money, etc. and that was left alone.

The electronics taken were things such as a laptop, camera, etc. None of these things were in view, but rather in drawers and closet. The thieves searched the place quite well, likely as they knew we would be gone for hours. (We think they had cased our routine and when we left for an afternoon dive, we did it at the same time and stayed gone for hours).

Again, I didn't post this to attack Bonaire or to convince others from visiting. I intend to return myself. But, pretending the crime doesn't exist puts tourists at a disadvantage. Next time I will likely stay at a resort such as Divi where at least there are guards. And, after reading the comment about last week's rape, I will not again walk home from dinner with just one female friend at night.

In my opinion, only if the populace of Bonaire demands that the police and the justice system go after these thieves, can this problem be curbed. I just hope it is, as Bonaire in general is a beautiful island that should not be tarred with such a boil as these criminals.

Mary could you or your friend please send us a copy of the police report it can be scanned and sent to moderators@bonairetalk.com
Actually had no one posted to this thread we probably would have pulled the post until you could confirm the theft.. Please run this type of post through the moderators first or they will be pulled...{especially since this was a first posting.. and since nothing of yours was stolen it appears to be hearsay until you can confirm the theft with a police report}

I know the person who had the most stolen reads Bonaire Talk regularly so hopefully he can send you the report. I don't have it and I'm back in the States now. He is still on the island. But, also, because we discovered more items stolen after the initial report was made and added them the next morning, the police have said the report will not be ready for a few weeks.

Also, please know I posted this only because the theft had a few key differences from what I read about other thefts. We took all the usual precautions of leaving nothing in the car when we dove, putting all equipment inside the house at night, using the safe, hiding computers and cameras.

What was different and should be noted is this theft occurred in the daytime, in a neighborhood which had regular traffic and people walking around, and took place in spite of bars on windows and locked doors. The thieves seemed to have monitored our pattern and likely knew they had time to break in and search. Also, the main house was not touched, leading us to think the thieves acted because the guest house was full of tourists.

I should add that the police showed up promptly and were professional. After the initial officers came and took the report, a detective came to do fingerprinting, etc. and was professional and seemed competent and concerned.

Again, if this was a garden variety theft of money from a car at a dive site, I wouldn't have posted. It was just more brazen and I thought you should know of it.

And, not hearsay b/c nothing of mine stolen. (I'm actually an attorney!) That seemed to just be luck of the draw as things were taken from my room, just not mine. I do have personal knowledge of the events and of what was stolen, so not hearsay by the definition of the word. Happily, simply due to lucky towel and a hidden in an odd spot purse, my belongings skated by undiscovered.

Mary please review our posting policies that can be found HERE
Thank you for reviewing them in advance

Mary, sorry to hear of your group's loss. Having had my last home broken into, I know it's a bad feeling.

I am disturbed by Anthony's post that there was a rape of a tourist. Has there been any more press on this? While crimes against property are not acceptable, crimes against people are what could really dampen the tourist trade.

The from Antony mentioned rape was not a tourist. It was a local affaire , people who did know each other - I prefer not to mention details.

It appears that a man is now in custody for a rape that took place in the middle of last week.

It is not certain at this time whether or not he was the culprit for the rape that took place a few days earlier although Police are hopeful.

Let us hope that the right person is in custody and is kept off the streets.

Antony, have you read our rules for posting messages and decided they do not apply to you? Because we will not tolerate gossip about crime. We've had too many instances of people who live on Bonaire being dead wrong when posting common gossip about crimes, and that is why we have rules against it HERE.

Amazing isn't it Seb some people JUST DON"T GET IT!!! Or perhaps they can't read???