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Native Son

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noOne
Son you keep saying the stateside murder rate is worse because of serial and mass murderers. Flat out, that is a better condition than the USVI because of the incredibly high murder rate

I have lived all over America. I never felt safe there. I feel safe here. Different strokes for different folks.

I, personally, would never again live anywhere in the continental United States. I had more crime committed against me personally in one week there than I have experienced in decades of living here in my home.

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roadrunner

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Native Son
Nobody is going to kill you for simply walking down the street. This is not Detroit.

Maybe not, but they might rob you at gunpoint. Which is surely a lot of fun.

Blu4u, thank you for mentioning Bob Johnston. Must have been a drug dealing, gun selling, horse race betting, dog fighting gangster when he wasn't busy writing books. *-)[/quote

Or you may get caught in the crossfire while running errands at 1:00 in the afternoon. Or arrive home early from work and surprise a gang of thieves. Or you may resemble someone else. Or maybe you are a potential witness in an upcoming case. Or maybe you responed to a neighbor's cries for help. Or prehaps shot/run down by a VIPD officer. Or ambushed outside your front door. Unless the story makes national headlines or the suspect was wounded and couldn't flee the scene, the chances of clearance are small.

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Native Son
Nobody is going to kill you for simply walking down the street. This is not Detroit.

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noOne
Son you keep saying the stateside murder rate is worse because of serial and mass murderers. Flat out, that is a better condition than the USVI because of the incredibly high murder rate

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603yoga
Wherever you are, the choices you make contribute directly to whether or not you find yourself in dangerous situations.....

I think I'm usually pretty smart about staying out of sketchy situations, but what's scary about crime on St. Croix is that there are those occasions when people are just in the wrong place at the wrong time...like what happened at Pickled Greek a couple summers ago.

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Iris Tramm

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Native Son
I agree that there is crime here...after all, Humans live here. I disagree with the notion that I need to be worried about it. I have not been personally affected by crime in decades. Maybe I'm just lucky, or maybe that's just normal.

Personally? I think you're lucky. In ten years, I've personally been burglarized in my home and in my car. I have had my life physically threatened. I have friends and acquaintances who have also had similar experiences -- in their homes, in their vehicles, and in their businesses. And on a regular basis. No one trusts the police, so people buy dogs, and alarm systems, and guns. I don't have the energy to look it up, but I'll bet the per-capita stats still bear out. We're an outlier. Why? Who knows. The violent and petty crime to which I've been exposed here, in this tiny hamlet, is greater than the sum of all the violent and petty crime to which I've been exposed anywhere else, and I've lived all over the world.

Thank your whomever you live under a blessing.

I'll still keep my machete.

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Native Son
I agree that there is crime here...after all, Humans live here. I disagree with the notion that I need to be worried about it. I have not been personally affected by crime in decades. Maybe I'm just lucky, or maybe that's just normal.

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Native Son
...there are many societal factors that contribute to crime, and if you are not willing to remove those factors then you have to live with the crime as a byproduct of human nature.

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Iris Tramm

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JulieKay

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Native Son
...whatever. Most people who live on St. Croix do not worry about crime as much as some of the people on this board would have you believe.
It is actually very peaceful here, and getting ready to be even more so with the closure of HOVENSA and the impending departure of lots of people. If we manage to scare even more away, or discourage them from coming here, we may even revert back to being the quiet, bucolic island a lot of us old folk remember.

Thank you Native Son. :)

I'm seeing a lot of postive things in the future as well, and am doing my best to contribute to this community.

Hey, me too. We just disagree on the crime thing. That's cool with me. You?

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JulieKay

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Native Son
...whatever. Most people who live on St. Croix do not worry about crime as much as some of the people on this board would have you believe.
It is actually very peaceful here, and getting ready to be even more so with the closure of HOVENSA and the impending departure of lots of people. If we manage to scare even more away, or discourage them from coming here, we may even revert back to being the quiet, bucolic island a lot of us old folk remember.

Thank you Native Son. :)

I'm seeing a lot of postive things in the future as well, and am doing my best to contribute to this community.

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blu4u

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Native Son

...It is actually very peaceful here, and getting ready to be even more so with the closure of HOVENSA and the impending departure of lots of people. ...

Although I can't quote cold numbers for support, I suspect that the folks formerly employed by HOVENSA were not committing crimes between shifts. With the refinery closing, STX will have less potential victims on island, not less criminals.

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Iris Tramm

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JulieKay
I'm seeing a lot of postive things in the future as well, and am doing my best to contribute to this community.

Hey, me too. We just disagree on the crime thing. That's cool with me. You?

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Native Son

...It is actually very peaceful here, and getting ready to be even more so with the closure of HOVENSA and the impending departure of lots of people. ...

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JulieKay

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Native Son
...whatever. Most people who live on St. Croix do not worry about crime as much as some of the people on this board would have you believe.
It is actually very peaceful here, and getting ready to be even more so with the closure of HOVENSA and the impending departure of lots of people. If we manage to scare even more away, or discourage them from coming here, we may even revert back to being the quiet, bucolic island a lot of us old folk remember.

Thank you Native Son. :)

I'm seeing a lot of postive things in the future as well, and am doing my best to contribute to this community.

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Native Son
...whatever. Most people who live on St. Croix do not worry about crime as much as some of the people on this board would have you believe.
It is actually very peaceful here, and getting ready to be even more so with the closure of HOVENSA and the impending departure of lots of people. If we manage to scare even more away, or discourage them from coming here, we may even revert back to being the quiet, bucolic island a lot of us old folk remember.

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Iris Tramm

It's the PER CAPITA rates that you have to look at JK. Sure, violent crime is everywhere, but not in so great of proportion to such a small community. Add to that the fact that most of the VIPD know the (alleged) offender or one of their family members, makes it very difficult to prosecute crime here. People EXPECT crime in large cities like ... what did you say? ... New York and maybe San Antonio, but the same cannot be said of a tiny island community. Warnings are appropriate, and not fearmongering.

Why do I stay? Because I have a job. And a machete.

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JulieKay
I've lived in a lot of bad areas in my adult life. I've been robbed three times - twice in New York, once in San Antonio. All three violent breaking and entering. I've been at knife point by a drug addict robbing me in New York. I've had guns pointed at me. NONE of this was on the USVI. Not saying it doesn't happen here. But honestly some people on these boards make it out like you can't walk around without being mugged every 5 minutes.

Avoiding crime is the same in most parts of the world, and your advice is solid whether in the USVI or the west side of Manhattan. Everyone gets to make choices about where and how they lead their lives, and the risks that come with them. But choices are rational decisions that are preferably based upon reality, not opinion and fearmongering. Honestly, if a person is that afraid, why stay?

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blu4u

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JulieKay
.....I don't know that I would use the phrase "out of control" - it's fearmongering... :)

Fear-mongering---no. Fact--yes. The USVI boasts one the highest per capita murder rates in the WORLD. The murder rate on STX is 100x higher than the stateside average. Look it up. The longer you stay on island, the more people you encounter, the more active you are in our community, the more violent crime will personally effect you.

Please be careful. Never walk to your car alone at night. Check the rear view. Be careful who you tell where you live. If a situation "feels" weird, assume it is and get out. If your hear gun shots, get down and cover your head.

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Iris Tramm

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blu4u

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JulieKay
.....I don't know that I would use the phrase "out of control" - it's fearmongering... :)

Fear-mongering---no. Fact--yes. The USVI boasts one the highest per capita murder rates in the WORLD. The murder rate on STX is 100x higher than the stateside average. Look it up. The longer you stay on island, the more people you encounter, the more active you are in our community, the more violent crime will effect you.

Please be careful. Never walk to your car alone at night. Check the rear view. Be careful who you tell where you live. If a situation "feels" weird, assume it is and get out. If your hear gun shots, get down and cover your head.

And then there are the DOGS that will come after you. I live alone in C'sted as well as work there and I do not walk around at night if I can avoid it. If I cannot avoid it, I carry a machete.

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blu4u

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JulieKay
.....I don't know that I would use the phrase "out of control" - it's fearmongering... :)

Fear-mongering---no. Fact--yes. The USVI boasts one the highest per capita murder rates in the WORLD. The murder rate on STX is 100x higher than the stateside average. Look it up. The longer you stay on island, the more people you encounter, the more active you are in our community, the more violent crime will effect you.

Please be careful. Never walk to your car alone at night. Check the rear view. Be careful who you tell where you live. If a situation "feels" weird, assume it is and get out. If your hear gun shots, get down and cover your head.

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JulieKay
.....I don't know that I would use the phrase "out of control" - it's fearmongering... :)