Crime in the BVI

There have been some interesting recent posts/discussions about increased C&I patrols, gun and drug running and crime in general in the BVI. That got me curious. Over the years, we've never had a personal encounter with criminal activity down there. I do remember several years ago reading about a couple who was horribly assaulted at one of the southern St. John anchorages, but I've not otherwise run into folks who have had bad experiences. Of course, our charter company reminds us on every trip to secure the boat against petty theft, but even that has not been an issue.
So what's your collective experience? With the increase in crowds and other local factors, is criminal activity spilling over to affect charterers? Are there destinations that any of you avoid for this reason?

I haven't seen much myself and we finished our 6th charter in 7 years earlier this year. The only illegal activity I've noticed is the occasional marijuana deal. I've seen that happen several times in both CGB and JVD (around Foxy's).

We always take care to lock our dinghy. We've never had anything happen but it's better safe than sorry. I did notice some sketchy guys hanging around the dinghy dock at Trellis the last time we were there. I stayed near the dock while the gals shopped. I'm not sure if they were up to something but it looked suspicious.

Keep your stuff and dinghy locked up. Have a great time. As long as you don't do anything crazy, I believe the chance of something happening to your or your crew is pretty low.

Our boat was boarded in Roadtown while we were onboard and cash and other items taken. Wife woke me up and he ran off when I went out to investigate. In a short period of time multiple boats were boarded and robbed in the Conch/TMM area of roadtown. Police were of zero use and never performed any real investigation other then saying it was Christmas time. Not sure what that meant.
G

A boat was robbed in Fat hogs with folks on board

OK, I'll bite. Last week?? 1989??

About three years ago my family and I were robbed while on the boat during the night. Never woke up, but when we got up in the morning all electronics and back packs were gone...

Traveler, where were you guys when that happened?

3 years ago also.

Probably talking about the one 6 years ago, the guy has been caught and convicted.

Here is an article: http://www.bviplatinum.com/news.php?articleId=1473352023

I can't think of a safer spot than the BVI... I feel safer down there than I do in the states.

How we "feel" isn't always the most accurate measure of such things. That's why crime statistics are kept.

The murder rate in the BVI is still about twice the US average (though far lower than the USVI)

if you are a tourist, what matters is the murder rate involving tourists. It is small or non existent in the BVIS. If I travel to Chicago and stay on Michigan avenue, I am quite confident I will not be a murder victim, while the murder rate is very high. That is not a feeling, it is a statistic that when understood makes it likely a very safe place to visit.

The other item is the extremely small population that makes one murder hugely skew statistics..so from one year to the next, if you have no murders..great, if you have one, then the per capita murder rate is huge compared to more populous countries.

We too suffered great loses in the BVI. Last time we were there we lost our cares, our worries, our stress and our negativity. Bankie Banx of Anguilla sings, "Wasted worry will possess you". Go down, be careful and have fun.

Jmon,

My experience was similar. What a loss... <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

Shari

Never thought twice about crime in the BVI. Never felt uncomfortable or unsafe.

Every time I leave my dinghy at the dock in CGB or Great Harbor Jost I can feel dozens of eyes staring hungrily at it waiting to pounce the moment I step out of sight...

Yikes! Having your boat boarded while you sleep is scary. I'd have to say if I survived that, it'd definitely be my last "vacation" in the area. We never take anything of much value, though. They'd be risking life and limb for our dime store sunglasses, a cracked iphone 6, and some wet swimsuits... I think my sandals cost more than anything else I take, but they'd need to wear a size 7.

Where I live (TX), you shoot first and ask questions (drag the body in) later if someone has the cajones to enter your house without an invitation. I guess on a charter in the BVI, you'd just need to be a good aim with the flare gun and can of Raid.

People impacted by drugs, needs, and illnesses can be anywhere. A shrub or corner near home or any anchorage/hotel. We should all be wary of looking like good bait. A cockpit full of bright iDevices at night looks like gold to some. To much flashy gold ashore or wads of cash flashed with each tab could be attractive to someone desperate anywhere. Leaving wallets on the nav table is really silly.

Across the Carribean over four decades we have only been victims on Antigua. A very long time ago in a large rented villa. With more than 25 crew on a maxi sleeping someone came in and was taking wallets and anything else they could find out or in pockets after a late night pool party. We felt really dumb. We thought we were untouchable. Each afternoon at the end of racing the police had truck load of guys they rounded up with hats or shoes they thought match the description of some things taken.

-One pair high tops with red shoe laces

-One Donald Duck Hat

-One pair rainbow socks

The police simply rounded up anyone that new to be trouble maker wearing funny shoes, shocks, or hats for us to inspect as we back up to the dock at the end of racing.

My two cents be less conspicuous than the other boats and crews around you. Do not leave out anything of any kind of value where it can easily seen through the portholes and hatches. Let somebody else be the easy juicy victim if the bad people become active. Try not to be so loudly and wildly obvious the entire boat crew is loading into the dinghy and leaving the boat empty for hours or returning to pass out when the time comes.

A few years ago we were staying on land for 3 days after the charter. Woke in the middle of the night to see a man on the room rummaging through our stuff. Ran off when I got up taking a back pack with him. Dropped it right outside them room. Called the police, they took a report and that was the last we heard about it.

So, where was it and how many years ago? Being vague and cryptic doesn't help anyone. Have you been back since?

Not sure if I should knock on wood, BUT we've been coming down 3 times a year now for years and have never had any such issues. Just reporting our experiences.

For those of you that lock your dingy, how do you do it, what do you use? Do you lock to the boat davit as well or just when going ashore? I'm assuming you just lock the outboard somehow? I was surprised the charter company said nothing about securing the dingy on our trip. I thought they would even give us a lock. I too saw several people at CGB scoping out our dingy at the dingy dock. It was off season early last month and we were the ONLY one's on the beach. Went up to a bar to get a drink and came back to our towels and flip flops stolen where we were laying on the beach.

Every charter I've been on we've had a long cable and a lock for the dinghy. We just make sure it goes through the engine and gas tank and then lock it to the dinghy dock. I do lock it to the boat overnight...but that's probably overkill...but better safe than the pain in the butt of losing the dink.

We lock our dinghy every night and every time we leave it ashore. We also lock our outboard to the transom and the stern rail. Your charter company should provide a cable, lock and key. Lots of stories every year about dinghies and outboards being stolen.

Cheers, RickG

Always lock your dinghy! Dinghy theft is not high on law enforcement priorities. BVI judges tend to give local dinghy thieves 6 or 7 chances to "straighten out" before imposing any serious penalties.

Do any of you know if The Moorings have dinghy locks? We have never been offered a lock and we have never asked for a lock. We did have a dinghy stolen in 2000 or 2002, I can't remember without looking it up. It seems the issue is more important now than it was back then. Thanks in advance.

Two words that will help anyone...home or abroad...."WASP SPRAY!!" Believe it or not....Wasp Spray will do a number on a person from a long distance and doesn't run-out like pepper spray. I too am from Texas (live in FLA now) and you have to improvise when a gun isn't available.

I planned on bringing some sort of cable and lock but figured Moorings would have something. Same thing for me! They didn't offer and I didn't think to ask. Too many other things going on and it slipped my mind. Next trip I'm definitely bringing some type of lock! When your dingy was stolen did the charter company deal with it or hit you up for the insurance deductible?

They gave us another dinghy. That being about 15 years ago, I think their policy has changed regarding the insurance. It seems to be a more common event now and I want to believe they would want to help the charterer take precautions (?).

I have had Moorings boats that had a cable/lock on board and others without. Ask your boat briefer to locate the lock for you. If they can't find it ask them to get you one.

This is good news. I will ask to get one. Thanks.

The BVI is probably one of the safest places to go sailing anywhere including the US. My concern is that the BVI police treat crime against a tourist as a non event unless it gets some publicity. Their motto is "No report, no crime!"
G

That was our last vacation down there...

Sorry to judge but... "when we got up in the morning all electronics and back packs were gone"

That could sound like you made yourself an attractive juicy target. Nothing says bait like a lot of bright electronics or a parade of backpacks down the dock then left laying out in the open areas of the salon. The next mistake many make is wallets left laying on the nav station. Consider this? When you park the car at home do you leave the backpack or purse on the front seat?

In any zip code it only takes a single digit few to create a "crime problem". That usually starts with someone making the crime really easy even lucrative to a person who has nothing. In my opinion, island crime across the globe starts is someone observing something that looks lucrative. Then we they think everyone is gone or everyone is asleep the "sneak thief" goes very quietly looking for it.

Again the only time we have been guilty of crime on any island is Antigua were we left everything out and every door open. 28 guys sailing a really big boat all sleeping together and we got robbed.

There are many things that might work. Those things can come with risk. Not every jurisdiction allows another person to intentionally do harm to someone else with complete immunity. Hosing someone with a "poison" from a distance could easily land an american in many foreign jails far from home until the matter is resolved.

My point, once you leave the borders of your home state. I would be very careful with the possession of anything that could be labeled a weapon or using any tool to do harm to someone else. That is not a political or moral statement. That is free amateur legal advice.

The maritime standard is to order a stranger aboard to leave. If that fails you give them what they want.

So .... Because the crime was really easy I guess that makes it ok. I'm tired of hearing all of the "you shouldn't have left your stuff out" comments. How about people should just leave other people's stuff alone. The boat wasn't in a high traffic area with all of our stuff on display.....but the current trend is to defend the criminals I guess...

Crime is never OK, the same is true with touching someone or their stuff without permission. One of the facts of life is once you feed a stray animal they will keep coming back. When travelers before us make crime easy and lucrative the bad actors will repeat the bad acts. Be careful what you bring, be careful what you show or flash, do not be careless, and be careful where you leave stuff on the inside or outside of the boat. On land do not leave bags unattended will the entire group swims.

I have left bags out in open sight on land and on the boat and have never worried one bit. HOWEVER, we were assaulted on the Willy T on locals night a few years ago and then returned to our 2 Cats and found that we had been boarded and robbed: They made off with 2 laptops and a handful of phones. I inquired with the Willy T the next morning and they blamed it on the "locals", which were actually a bunch of hoodlums from St. Thomas.

Other than that one thing, we have never had an issue. Never lock up our dingy and usually just leave our bags lying where we drop them. Its a safe place...

I am a St Thomas resident for decades and have spent many nights [local and un-categorized] at the William Thornton both the original and present hull.
It is considerably more uncommon to see STT "hoodlums' there than the local go fast boats of the BVI 'transport fleet"

I agree, you rarely see locals from ST Thomas.
G

Touche. I was just repeating what the nice folks on the Willy T told me. Regardless, I stay away from the place on locals night and everything is cool. And I have learned to lock up and hide EVERYTHING valuable on the boat. Probably a good lesson to learn.

About to commence 15th Moorings sail in a week. Over last 10 years, we have brought a motor bar lock for the engine and a cable with locks for the dinghy itself. For $100 or so, it's worth the peace of mind. Then we leave the locks for the next group instead of hauling them home. We avoid bringing valuables (especially jewelry)and electronics are well hidden, even when we are on the boat at night. The problem is rare in the BVI compared to down island, but sadly, it does exist so just play it safe and you'll likely never have a problem.