There were a few incidents that happened over a week ago. They had nothing to do with race. There was an accidental drowning with absolutely no foul play suspected. A fight with one person who was seriously injured and who is recovering now (this was as a result of a ongoing trouble between two people). The third was a death that was as a result of an ongoing medical issue. There is claims that this person was beat up first and later died in the parking lot of the clinic after he drove himself there when he wasn't feeling well. The autopsy stated he died from complications to his medical issues (he was on dialysis). Not to imply we have no crime, but the three things that happened the weekend before last had nothing to do with race and were not random acts of violence.

Joanne -

The VINOW board is not the place to find out about crime in STJ. If you want to keep up on crimes in the USVI - read
http://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/

for STJ - go to the St John Tradewinds newspaper
http://www.stjohntradewindsnews.com/

and download the PDF copy

There seems to be a major upswing in crime - esp gun crimes on STT and STC - there is a FaceBook page for WTJX US Virgin Islands Public Television System that is attempting to get more community involvement
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=logo#/wtjx?ref=ts

you will need a FaceBook account.

Like anyplace on Earth - be aware of your surroundings, and do not put yourself in potentially bad situations (like being out late, alone, and drunk...).

The sad fact is that where there are humans, there is crime of varying degrees. There will always be those that feel that they have a right to everyone else's property. There will always be domestic issues. There will always be drug issues even where they are legal. And there will always be a segment of society that is simply stupid and can not behave in a civilized manner.

blujahz,
Why isn't this message board a place to find out about crime? I personally think that when visiting an area, the crime is pretty important. I use to live on STX and know the deal. I depend on this forum to keep me updated and informed on everything, including any dangers when i visit. I just don;t know why you would say that this is not the place......why not? rumors?

Because here anything is purely ancecdotal. The newspapers have the actual facts. But in my opinion STJ is still one of the safest places in the caribbean.

Just got this in my in box. Had to come see for myself all the commotion. I missed it all.

Here's a link if you're interested.

http://ragx.net/363/a-clever-marketing-ploy/

Isn't the FBI and Justice Department "hate crime investigation" the author's referring to rather dated and goes back to a couple of years ago when the whacky lady on STJ came up with all sorts of wild tales about being raped and thrown into the sea by four big white males?

Forum posts are often removed when they start taking on vituperative racial tones. Seems to me that the author is more miffed that she can't advertise her health care products on a forum than anything else!

curran17 wrote:
blujahz,
Why isn't this message board a place to find out about crime? I personally think that when visiting an area, the crime is pretty important. I use to live on STX and know the deal. I depend on this forum to keep me updated and informed on everything, including any dangers when i visit. I just don;t know why you would say that this is not the place......why not? rumors?

Just saw this - we are enjoying ourselves in STJ now. This board is not the place to find out about crime because it becomes contentious, and is censored (sometimes for good reasons - other times because of protectionism - IMO)

As stated - there are better places to inform yourself about crime in the USVI - and not on a vacation board

Even coming from an urban area (SF Bay) with high crime - I was a bit taken back about the DJ mixers on local radio stations (rap) and their glorification of guns and being a 'gangsta'

Went back to the post at the link. If you go to the bottom of the page it states this [i]"This entry was posted on Saturday, June 13th, 2009 at 11:52 am"[/i]

Like I mentioned earlier I just got the email link via my in box this am.

I saw that the entry was posted yesterday but still think the author's info is way outdated.

Wow,
i can tell you that we have lots of drug related crime in Daytona Beach, but it is not always in the news. I would want to know this if vacationing there with my kiddies. Also we have spring break where the college kids get naked.....woud want to know that if bringing my kiddies to the beach during that time. I saw a dad covering his kid's eyes while a WET SHIRT contest was going on..........hmmmmm
maybe if vacation boards were truthful and helpful to others but you are right, you can join that facebook thing and get the facts........not rumors
also the vi police has a web site too that is very informative........

If you use the search feature on this forum you will see that crime is one of the most discussed topics, certainly disproportionate to the amount of actual crime here. The so called censoring done on this site is limited to removal of personal attacks, business promotion, and other childish and/or prohibited behavior.