i was not flaming i was simply stating that every couple of weeks the crime issue gets brought up and rehashed, of course the question was in response to the tradewinds article but all the answers were not and it was once again veering out into the great blue yonder, the villas were broken into because of resentment and envy like i said earlier in my first response,end of story,get over it.

Amen.
MJ

Wow, are resentment and envy really the reasons for the villa break ins? If that was the case, then wouldn't ALL the villas be burglarized?? All I'm gonna say is, I sure resent and envy people who have more than I do (and I'm only middle class here, not upper middle or upper class, ok?) but I don't rob them, and LOTS and lots of poor people don't rob, either. There certainly have to be larger societal issues at work here....

i'm not talking about the majority,i'm talking about the few that do the deeds, what other motivation besides resentment and envy can you think of, you can toss greed in there but thats just envy

and islandjoan i'm sure there's a 12 step group somewhere that can address your resentment and envy issues,can't you just be happy with what you do have? 🙂

hey, west, I should have put my own "resentment and envy" in quotes. I don't really resent and envy, not always anyway. (except if its those Saudis with the solid silver cars and houses made of gold, well that's just obscene cuz they're getting rich off of all of our backs) OK yeah maybe I could use the 12 step now, haha! Actually I am happy with what I have, for the most part. My bf is trying to convince me to buy a HD flat screen and I'm happy with the old 21 inch tv I have; don't see the point in upgrading....but I digress. Have a good day!

:DOK now....let's play nice!!

I need to clarify about my earlier post. The Carribean Saloon is one of my favorite resturaunts on the island. The food is delicious and the prices are reasonable. I have never once felt unsafe there, or anywhere else on the island. My point was the fact that this incident could have happened anywhere in any bar, and completely avoidable. Can't wait to get back and have some of their hot wings. Yummy!

Molly

The Tradewinds article was about robbery/burglaries on STJ.

"West" responds "would you walk down a darkened street where you currently live." Has this person even read the posts or the article? That followed "yes, you'll be safe." What sort of Person can make that claim?

STTResident claims that two incidents in three days, actually it's three in five days is not an "upswing." I repeat "questionable credibility, questionable motives, or at least terrible math skills." Actually there is another possibility-if it is not an upswing, then STTResident may think that's the "normal" rate of crime on the west side of STJ.

Each mention of crime on this forum brings a few Pollyannas who just don't want the subject discussed-they just don't want to know. It is our paradise, let me think of it the way I want. A recent poster asked about the villa Paloma Blanca and another posted responded that they woke up in that villa to find burglars(or are they robbers then?) in their bedroom-is that an out of bounds reply?

Unfortunately there are a few other posters who always downplay or deny that crime is a concern, then attack posters who question them. As someone else alluded in this thread, those posters may have ulterior motives. Regardless they should be accurate and on topic.

It's a forum-give honest information.

I guess the bottom line is IF you are affected by crime anywhere, even when you're on vacation, you definetly will look at where you vacation differently.

If you haven't been affected, you really can't understand.

Luckily, we've been safe everywhere we've vacation. Just not in the Islands, but all over Florida, Jamaica, Mexico, the Bahamas, etc.

I always feel for people who have been victims of crime, but if you haven't been there, you'll never understand.

The fact is that MOSTguests and residents of the USVI are not touched by crime. I've lived here for almost 5 years and have always felt safe. All I can speak to is my personal experience, as I assume others have done.

oh please MLS i've lived and worked here for 15 years and yes i read the article, so what, we have crime here big deal, use the search engine,no pollyanna about it i acknowledge the criminal element here the same way i did when i was up in the states, it happens,deal with it, if you're nervous about coming here, don't,go somewhere else(disney.mall of america,the grand canyon.south dakota) but please use the search engine about crime instead of just asking first, do the search first and then ask,what about this is so hard to understand,why is a rash of burglaries here any different than say dallas or st.martin or new orleans, you have corrupt cops everywhere,when i vacation i go to atlanta,but am i on a message board quivering about crime,no, i'm adult enough to realize that there is crime everywhere and to be aware of my surroundings.

It would seem that multi-Million dollar villas that are often empty and then occupied by presumably somewhat upscale clientele would present a crime of opportunity to someone with a mind towards criminal activity. Once successful, they may be inclined to try another home nearby, and eventually on a small island it could seem like a crime wave. Vigilance and community reaction will likely correct the problem with or without police apprehension and the individual or small group responsible forced to give up their thieving behavior unless it is just too easy. Very few people would choose to live and be known as a thief in such a small population and live in fear of retribution and condemnation.

Board Rules Reminder: If you have feedback to share - share it; please keep the attacks on other participants however out of your response.

Thank you,

--Islander

OMG - my wife is a travelling nurse and is headed to St Thomas next month. Thanks for the warning about those nurses, I'll keep my eye on anything I have of value. It only goes to show that anyone can commit a crime. It is a sad statement on human nature. For some reason there are those that feel they have more of a rite to your property than you do regardless of the fact you actually worked for it yourself rather than just taking it from others.

We have never felt unsafe in the islands but we do use some common sense and we are sober all of the time LOL.

whos this blujahz person posting/ just curious if it lives here or not,lol vi bound your last post could describe some of the people working on our constitution as we speak

As a relatively new reader of this forum, so somewhat objective, my reading of this topic was that MLS was not at all nasty, but STT Resident & West certainly attacked him/her.

As a sociologist who has done much, much research on the matter, crime such as this is not a matter of envy and resentment, but rather strongly correlated with drug usage, specifically crack cocaine. This correlation is not only statistically significant but substantiated as such over many years of repetitive findings.

Combine that with an ineffective police force, you have the simply understood dynamic of "gain outweighs risk." That is, perpetrators probable gain of $$$ to feed their habit far outweighs their possible risk of identification, prosecution, and imprisonment for the crime.

This crime question comes up every few weeks and, I think those of us who live here and post frequently get weary of saying the same thing over and over.

But I will say it again - the USVI is a small place with lots of natural beauty and a population of about 110,000. As with anywhere else, we do have crime. We have a "drug" problem. We live, rich and poor, side by side in close proximity. We have very few totally "bad" areas, or, for that matter, totally "good" areas. We have an ineffectual police department.. Our newspapers are very small town and every burglary gets reported..

If this sounds like someplace you'd like to visit, know that statistically your chances of being a victim of crime are very low. If visiting a real place with real people makes you nervous, perhaps the USVI should not be your first cholce

This crime question comes up every few weeks and, I think those of us who live here and post frequently get weary of saying the same thing over and over.

But I will say it again - the USVI is a small place with lots of natural beauty and a population of about 110,000. As with anywhere else, we do have crime. We have a "drug" problem. We live, rich and poor, side by side in close proximity. We have very few totally "bad" areas, or, for that matter, totally "good" areas. We have an ineffectual police department.. Our newspapers are very small town and every burglary gets reported..

If this sounds like someplace you'd like to visit, know that statistically your chances of being a victim of crime are very low. If visiting a real place with real people makes you nervous, perhaps the USVI should not be your first cholce

That was a great reply! Nothing more needs to be said!

I thank everyone for their comments. As was said - like everywhere there is some crime. I have to believe it is somewhere in the middle of the two opinions that has been described here.
I asked the question about safety because unfortunately in today's world it needs to be #1 concern and I was looking for any specific advice such as do not go north of xxx street after 10 pm. I can understand If there is no specific advise such as this, as said above "not every place has "totally bad" areas". I live in Pittsburgh and I feel it is a relatively safe city but even in safe cities you have to use common sense. If asked I could tell you specific places not to go.
I also wanted to hear about the National Park trails in particular. We vacation at a lot of the western states parks and have mostly felt safe but we also know how vulnerable you can be on a deserted trail miles from anywhere and if there was any cautionary advice for the trails like make sure you are back by 6 pm etc.
Thanks and BTW I just made our reservations for June and can't wait to get there!