Rental Truck Vandalized
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Mike
Contributor
It doesn't matter how you want to sugar coat it, how you want to rationalize it, no matter how much you do this it doesn't change the fact that petty crime against divers is and does happen on Bonaire and it happens enough for it to be repeated over and over again on forums like this one with posts either with warnings about how to protect yourself or posts about reports of incidents and it happens enough that the entire rental car industry on Bonaire makes a point of declaring it and warning renters about it and has a protocol in place to alleviate damage with big signs in their shops warning about it.
Is the sky falling? No. Does it happen yes. It's a pain in the ass, and like I said it's the unfortunate price you pay to dive there. Does it mean the end of the world? HELL NO, but lets stop pretending that it's not an issue and a pain in the ass and ridiculous that it's not lessened. If you really want to act like it's a non-issue then put your money where your mouth is and show us all how little it bothers you and leave $20.00 bills on your dash in your open car window in Bonaire and really show us how the crime is a total non-issue to you. If not, stop the stupidness of trying to marginalize the issue and marginalize discussion of it. If you really feel as strongly that it's a good thing, prove it. Stop pretending you like it and nobody should ever talk about it. You dislike it as much as anyone else, stop the game playing, who cares how much crime there is anywhere else, it's totally unrelated to Bonaire.
salth2owannabe
Contributor
Wow, 8 pages for a stolen shift knob.
If you want to be safe and avoid issues on any island I suggest you stay at home. Make sure your mote is wide and deep and the concrete walls are thick. Oh yeah, don't forget the gun turrets.
It's really not about a stolen shift knob or an expectation of a vacation on a crime free island.
I think many folks are like myself, in that this "petty" crime on vehicles is an easily addressed issue that seems to be viewed as acceptable or receives a blind eye from the law enforcement/government on Bonaire. I live in a smallish community of about 50,000. Occasionally we have a smash-and-grab group that crops up and targets cars parked at lots while people walk the greenbelt. Local law enforcement makes an effort to catch the group, they are usually caught in about a month and the problem goes away. Bonaire isn't a very big island, the groups that are hitting these dive sites are not very big. A little effort to target these groups and the problem would all but disappear. As easy as these sites are targeted by thieves they are just as easy to stake out by law enforcement. LEOs coming out of the brush as they go through a rental veh and a few arrests made and we probably would have to find another topic to complain about.
Does it keep me from going to Bonaire - Nope! Have my next trip already booked. It sure would be nice however to park my pu and leave a cooler for lunch, a cheap dive bag to organize my gear, etc. in the cab and not expect it to be gone when I return.
So what is your personal threshold for being content with the situation of rental trucks vandalized while parked at dive sites? Would it be one rental truck vandalized per 1,000 parkings or 5,000 parkings or what? Crime cannot be eliminated to absolute zero anywhere--it's an unattainable theoretical limit. I am all in favor of talking about crime and seeing what we can do, if anything, to help reduce crime, whether we're talking about Bonaire or anywhere else. It is NOT a "non-issue" to me--you are putting words in my mouth.
I disagree that the incidence of similar crime elsewhere in the world is irrelevant to the incidence in Bonaire or to our discussion, because it is unrealistic to hold Bonaire to a different standard than similar places (and arguably, it's hard to identify a similar place where you have a fleet of rental trucks specifically for giving tourists access to shore sites scattered around an island). Any changes that a locality decides to make to improve security are inevitably going to be motivated by a comparison of crime in that locality with crime in comparable localities, so it would make sense that in discussing the issue here we do the same. There is no way that the local government in Bonaire is going to devote sufficient resources to reduce rental truck vandalism to absolute zero, because no government anywhere, no matter how dependent on tourism, operates that way.
---------- Post added April 18th, 2014 at 12:26 PM ----------
It is a matter of Bonaire weighing the cost of enforcement against the financial impact from lost tourism. Law enforcement officers are not going to stake out the brush until you and I stop going to Bonaire because we feel there is too much crime. That's all there is to it. Bonaire is not going to devote one single hour of increased law enforcement just because you and I think it would be nice if they did. The fact that you and I continue to return to Bonaire is plain evidence that even you and I do not objectively believe that increasing law enforcement efforts is absolutely necessary. There is no doubt some threshold at which Bonaire WILL do something, but apparently we have not reached it.
flots am
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As a tourist, I don't really care if it's 100%.
The truck has insurance and I'm only there for a week. I never leave anything in the truck that's mine, and the locals can sort out the rest if and when they feel like it.
From my (tourist's) perspective, as long as it's just property damage and theft (even better - insured property that's "not mine"), I really don't see an issue here.
Now for the locals, I'm not sure why they haven't addressed the problem.
Bonaire is an island. Finding the criminals shouldn't require Columbo, and it's my understanding that the Dutch have great discretion on who gets to remain on the island. I don't see any reason the criminals couldn't simply be ejected when caught.
I agree, insurance covers any damage to the vehicle such as a broken window or a stolen shifter knob. However, if they steal a tire or a battery, then it is a huge pain. Even if you carry a cell phone on your dive and have it available to make a phone call once on shore, it will waste hours of your vacation.
Mike
Contributor
Zero would be great. That not being possible, the amount tolerable would be in proportion to the situation that exists (small island, not a 2 million population metropolitan area), and the effort and attitude applied to it by the local police force (about zero).
The perception that the issue is not given any respect by the local authorities, combined with the inconvenience, combined with the feeling of "if not for the crime there" creates a feeling of frustration to the dive tourists going there. The noise this creates at the current level isn't enough to have created a tipping point and may never create one, but it is felt and is a factor in destination choices by some.
The further frustration is the ridiculous rationalization or out right bluster by some to paint anyone who is annoyed by it as being petty, or the endless comparisons to crime rates elsewhere.
It's certainly one thing to have a level of crime in the US that is a final statistic being effected by an effort to deter it and it's an alltogether different level of frustration to have a level of crime in a place like Bonaire where the only final statistic effecting it is how people avoid leaving anything to be stolen because there is little to no effect on this crime by law enforcement.
Simply understand that the current level of petty crime which many consider to be low and easily tolerable is at this level because it's artificially kept at this level through the removal of anything to steal!
Just imagine the crime level that would be reported if the current prevention method of "leave the windows down, don't leave anything to steal" was removed. If everyone started rolling their windows up and left valuables in their vehicles while diving the incident level would soar.
Apply the Bonaire anti-crime logic to life would equate to - If you own a home and people keep breaking the door down and breaking your windows to get into it and stealing your TV when you aren't there your choices are
1) Don't leave a TV in your house when you leave it, take it with you
2) Don't lock your door or windows when you leave and then you won't return to find them broken and kicked in
And then on the home forums there would be people replying and rationalizing about it that this is the way it is everywhere.
But what is the amount YOU think should be tolerable/practical? Your number is apparently lower than what the local government thinks. Your number (and that of others who think like you) is also apparently lower than the threshold it takes to keep people like you from coming back. So what is the solution? What do we hope to accomplish through discussions like this? I see it as sort of analogous to supply and demand for a product; the manufacturer isn't going to improve quality of the product so long as he keeps making enough profit. Bonaire is meeting the demand.
I agree with that. So if the noise level is not high enough to have created a tipping point, yet Bonaire's tourist industry is apparently satisfied with the amount of income they're generating, what is their motivation to change anything? Why should they change anything? Who are we to tell Bonaireans that it might be possible to increase tourism income by investing more in security? I have to assume they are happy with the way things are. I would love to see an improvement, but I just don't know of any way other than to stop visiting Bonaire. I haven't reached that tipping point yet. I deplore the crime, but I think it is still below my personal tolerance threshold. Each of us has one, and each of us will vote with our wallets. I am absolutely not trying to persuade anyone to continue visiting Bonaire if they have already formed an opinion of where their personal threshold is.
Again, I am not painting anyone as petty. Each of us has our personal threshold, and I do not judge anyone else who decides to stop visiting Bonaire.
As for comparisons to crime rates elsewhere, I stick to what I said previously: It believe comparisons are not only relevant but indispensable to anyone whose goal it may be to effect change in Bonaire, whether that is some citizen's group or tourist advocacy group or whatever. The only way anyone will be able to make a persuasive argument to the authorities is to make comparisons.
But what you are calling "artificial" is common practice or common advice all over the world for people leaving vehicles in isolated places. It's just good practice anywhere to not leave valuables in your vehicle parked in some isolated area. As for leaving the windows rolled down and/or doors unlocked to avoid having the windows smashed, people do this even in the US.
Of course the incidence of smashed windows in Bonaire would "soar" if everyone left the windows up and doors locked, because there are so many rental trucks left unattended. Thieves who show up at any given site on any given day know it is likely that there are a handful of rental trucks--probably somewhere between one and five--and that if they wait around for an hour there will very likely be a timespan during which no one else is in sight of the rental trucks. Not much strategy is necessary on their part. I really don't know of anywhere else in the world where there is such an opportunity for thieves to vandalize tourist rental vehicles without having to plan much of anything.
I realize those are extreme examples you're using to make a point, but many of us do not leave valuables out when we are not home. We do what we can to avoid having stuff stolen, with the measures we take depending on the crime level where we live. How about a vacation rental home?--I wouldn't leave valuables in it while I'm out unless I were confident in the security, which I usually am not. I don't know about a house, but I could certainly envision people leaving, say, a shed unlocked if the shed has nothing of value in it. You ever leave a backpack or piece of soft luggage in an unsecured area of a hostel or put it in the cargo hold of a dodgy bus?--I don't advise locking it because people have been known to slash them with knives and feel around inside. If you want your backpack intact, don't lock it. Vandals will try to break into things that look like they might have something of value in them--it is virtually unavoidable. One very reasonable way to avoid damage is to not keep valuables there and let them have a look. Am I rationalizing that "it's this way everywhere"? I don't know. It may not be "everywhere," but it's certainly the way I expect it to be when I know I'm not under the watchful eyes of law enforcement in a region frequented by tourists or others that opportunistic locals might suspect have stuff worth stealing.
As a tourist I agree with this. It's not my problem if they're not stealing my stuff and I'm not liable for repairs to the vehicle. But these guys are breaking into local vehicles and stealing their stuff too. It's NOT limited to tourists or dive sites. You don't have to take my word for it. Follow the police crime reports and you'll see for yourself.
Ejected to where? Most if not all were born on the island and are residents.
A much larger problem facing island government and residents, including the police, is that island infrastructure continues to struggle under high cost of living combined with low wages and lack of jobs. Tourists and retirees store their money off-island, most local working residents make relatively low wages, and many don't work at all. The tax base is insufficient to sustain services and infrastructure, much less scale them out further. This includes road repair, water supply, sewage treatment, long-term refuse management, police, and prisons. Since 10/10/2010 much of the funding has come from the Netherlands, but that's not popular or sustainable because the island isn't contributing the Dutch economy at anywhere near the same rate it's consuming Dutch funds and other resources.
So in context to this petty crime discussion: Who is going to fund the police, prosecutors, and prisons required to capture and detain these thugs? Bonaire's current prison is full and there's already a waiting list that will overflow the new prison as soon as it's completed. As it is today, each arrest, prosecution, and jail sentence is weighed against the existing inmates to determine who stays in jail and who doesn't. There's no room to house more inmates and nowhere to ship them away to. This is perhaps a major reason for perceived police apathy. Why arrest a petty thief if the prosecutor won't convict him and the jail doesn't have room for him?
Apply the Bonaire anti-crime logic to life would equate to - If you own a home and people keep breaking the door down and breaking your windows to get into it and stealing your TV when you aren't there your choices are
1) Don't leave a TV in your house when you leave it, take it with you
2) Don't lock your door or windows when you leave and then you won't return to find them broken and kicked in
And then on the home forums there would be people replying and rationalizing about it that this is the way it is everywhere.
Not sure if this is sarcasm, or if you don't understand the big picture of crime on Bonaire, but this is already happening all over the island. These guys are boldly entering occupied homes while residents and tourist sleep and are stealing TVs, computers, smartphones, appliances, and even food in some cases. Victims include native residents, naturalized residents, and visitors. Basically anyone without bars on the windows, alarms, or big dogs is a potential target. Again, read the police logs and local newspapers and see for yourself. Don't limit yourselves to just the views and experiences discussed on this forum. Most everyone on the island agrees that something needs to be done, but nobody can figure out how to fund and execute a sustainable strategy.
Personally I think more of the burden will have to be borne by the tourism industry at some point. Right now not much of the money we spend during a week on the island gets back into the government tax base. The more that the tourism industry and patrons clamor for change, the more we'll be expected to fund it.
Most manufacturers will improve a product if they think they can make more profit (regardless of how much they think is enough profit).
On the other side of the coin, perhaps they aren't doing anything about the theft to avoid the island being overrun by tourists
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