dntw8up:

Thanks.

Carlos was a friend . My heart goes out to Verian.

F.I.

Thanks for bringing that up, dntw8up. The trial was short and sweet and the verdict came in shortly and sweetly. I think one of the major factors was that the testimony of those off-island visitors who took the time to return for the trial was incredibly impelling and the defense attorneys couldn't budge their testimony one little bit.

So many locals are scared to testify in such cases, fearing retribution from friends and families in this tight-knit community. Major kudos to those tourist eye-witnesses for returning to testify.

The VIPD often gets an undeserved bum rap, as does the AG's office and of course we have numerous unsolved and "cold" cases but prosecutors can only go forward when witnesses will testify and a case can be solidly made. We're not perfect but there are few jurisdictions which are. Cheers!

I was about three cars away from this. I was coming from Red Hook, Carlos was coming up the Sapphire hill from his home down on Pelican. I did not know what was happening until I got to the top of the hill.

There is nothing that can bring Carlos back but this piece of an excuse for a human being and his defense that he did not do it was a lie. But he was caught NOT BY VIPD BUT THE VACATIONERS. They had the goods on him. The VIPD should have put him in jail on the suspicion of murder right of way when the vacationers told them, which they did. This would have been done in the main land.

There is a reason that the VI has more murders than NYC. MORE THAN NYC!!!!!! Had the id not been made by the vacationers he might have walked. We will never know.

So this justice was from outside not in side.

I love our island. But the crime had better be brought under control !

Bill D

Bill:

There were 801 murders in NYC in 2007.

I couldn't find a running count for 2008, but I can't believe that the VIs exceed this number.

F.I.

billD, I have to agree with FI but I don't want this thread to turn into yet another repetitive melee about statistics, per capita stats, etc.

I've been a victim of crime here and there have been times when I've directly "dunned" the VIPD from a passionate stance. But this is not "Law and Order" or "CSI" where everything gets solved in a 60 minute segment and our law enforcement officials from the AG's office down to the policeman on the street simply don't have all those sound-byte accoutrements at their disposal - as do not the majority of jurisdictions under the US flag or anywhere else for that matter.

Many cases ARE eventually solved here, sometimes later than sooner and one only has to stay abreast of the local news here to know that. The startling headlines make big news but the eventual resolution which may come a couple of years after the fact while evidence is gathered, is there but unfortunately is of little interest to the majority.

I stand by my original post and my references to the working subtleties where crime-solving is concerned. Cheers!

billD, I have to agree with FI but I don't want this thread to turn into yet another repetitive melee about statistics, per capita stats, etc.

Why? The statistics don't match your opinion?

"billD, I have to agree with FI but I don't want this thread to turn into yet another repetitive melee about statistics, per capita stats, etc."

STTResident wants to make sure that we know she agrees with FI and not billD, but who knows what she is agreeing to. We know she does not want any facts or statistics brought into the discussion as that might tend to make the thread too objective. billD's point obviously concerns murder rate. Using FI's numbers 807 murders in NYC is about 10 per 100,000. Using just STJ numbers for 2007, 3 per 10000 population (5000 residents and say generously 5000 more for daily workers and tourists), that's 30 per 100,000. billD's point should be fairly obvious!

STTResident is not just satisfied with not wanting any objectivity brought to the discussion, but then she needs to add her editorial comment

"Many cases ARE eventually solved here"

My initial reaction was that that was a tongue in cheek comment, but apparently not. It is clear why she wants to keep the thread devoid of facts, so that she can litter it with her unsubstantiated opinions. "Many cases," compared to what? Again looking at just STJ statistics, in 2008 one crime in 118 has been solved;in 2007, 4 in 182. No matter what the paradise goggled want to say about the crime rate, clearly the clearance rate in STJ specifically is abominally low.

"The VIPD often gets an undeserved bum rap" must be a bad attempt at humor, as inspite of their overall abysmal statistics, this crime was successfully solved and prosecuted mainly because of tourists. Add to that the possibly highest profile burglaries solved this year in STJ-the burglaries of boats in Cruz, Great Cruz, and Chocolate Hole Bays- were solved by Tortolan police!

Opinions are just that unless you can back them up. Uninformed opinions are a disservice to a forum.

MLS: What a lot of energy you've expended in analyzing my every word looking for hidden agendas and coming up with suppositions. Thank you so much for your opinion which I can only assume from your last sentence is the "informed" one and thus the only one which matters with all others being a forum disservice. Cheers!

That's such a shame. Same thing in Philly. People just don't want to turn anybody in and their neighborhoods are just going downhill, they're flooded with drugs and there's guns everywhere.

I give alot of credit for the tourists being so determined. We would do the same thing.

Too people that live on the Islands, aren't you all sick of it??? I saw the same statistics about STJ and I was dumbfounded. Is it because they don't have the resources or manpower to solve more cases? Is it because it's a small Island and everybody knows each other, or are related in some way, that they won't speak up?

Does STT or STJ have a citizins crime watch? Maybe get the children involved so they don't have to grow up as thugs, robbers, killers?

 

MLS: http://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/index.pl/article_home?id=17619494

"Last year, of the 46 homicides in the Virgin Islands..."

That makes for about 42 per 100,000.

USVI has about a 33% solvency for murder, compared to the national solvency of 62%

"The 2007 total means the territory remains one of the most violent places under the American flag."

Note the word, "remains"

STT Resident: denying the problem will NOT solve it.