14 murders this month in STX

yeah? so what,. good riddance to bad rubbish

Are you feeling grouchy from giving up cigarettes? I know you have a little compassion for the 46 murder victims.

lol yes i do, for the innocent ones, there are those here that say and feel that the oven is not cleaning itself fast enough, and why start a thread on this subject,it's been talked to death,and there is absolutely no reason to keep bringing it up

Just because people keep saying they are thinking of moving here and asking about the crime. I wish I had known. Oh well.
Maybe someone will do something about it?

But how bad is it truly? Most of the murders seem to NOT be random. It's typically family against family drug related stuff isn't it? Aren't the instances of truly random violent crime (e.g., the guy who got shot at the Pickled Greek a few weeks back) still infrequent?

For someone like myself who doesn't hang out at bars anytime, restaurants past dinner time, and have no involvement with drugs I generally don't feel violent crime is a big issue (property crime is a different story depending on where you live though.)

Have there been more than a handful of truly random violent crimes in the past year or two?

I'm just disappointed in my STX boys. We usually win this race and we are woefully behind STT. There is still time for us to take the lead though so I'm not despairing yet!

I think it's 99% drug/gang related

It may be the self cleaning thing as TRW would like to think............yeah most the deaths are scum, but these scum are also the ones who rob & KILL innocent by standers. 14 murders in ONE month is unacceptable & something needs to be done!
These punks are brazen enough to fire shots off in homage to one of their fallen, grave side in broad daylight!!
Why do we need to wait until another beloved person like Peter is KILLED before any one gets worked up? How many children needlessly will be shot by a stray bullet?? So what if they are in the projects................NOT all the people in the projects are bad!! I knew several GOOD folks that live there and wish they could afford to move to a safer place and put their kids in private school, yet they can't.
On one hand TRW you claim all this violence isn't bad and crime is scum on scum, yet when "your" house was broke into or attempted broken into, you had the guy beat up. Plus he was hand delivered to your house for a good bitch slap fest........yet anyone else should just sit back & let the cleansing wipe out the bad........................*-)

I don't think it was 14 murders in one month. It was 14 murders on stx year to date.

yeah? so what,. good riddance to bad rubbish

TRW...you are known for your blunt perspective on certain subjects, which i respect....but this is too much. People are dying, and those that died are someone elses brother, mother, father,sister, cousin..etc. Have a little spec of compassion for those that are affected are not "bad rubbish" Please start smoking again so your not such a a-hole.

Where was the father,mother, brother, sister, etc when these punks were growing up to teach them values and morals; why do they feel the need to join a gang or commit a robbery or murder to prove them selves.

I stand corrected............14 murders on STX in 8 months is still 14 too many and should NOT be tolerated PERIOD!

Until the schools get better the violence will never get better. You need the majority of parents involved in their kids lives and I really really don't believe this happens at all.

It is not just the schools, it is the whole government and attitude in the islands that must change before things get better. I realized very quickly after moving down here that the government is dysfunctional. On my PMV in '98 I was staying at the Buccaneer and was watching TV one night. I saw a campaign ad for Chucky Hansen. I thought it was a Saturday Night Live skit. Who in their right minds would elect someone as illiterate as Chucky. I have since learned that she was one of the most popular Senators.

If you keep putting the same people into office why would you expect things to change. We now have Senator Usie "Sexual Harassment" Richards still there after paying off his victims and putting a gag order on the settlement. Who do you think paid them off? Why is he still in the senate? Why is anyone who has ever held a senate seat here still in the senate after the results that they have produced?

I'll tell you why. The government of the Virgin Islands does one thing, provide salaries and benefits for the employees of the government of the Virgin Islands. They are the single largest voting block in the Virgin Islands. Government employment is part of an extended welfare program. No one is expected to actually do their job, they can't be fired if they don't do their job, they are immune to recession.

As for the police, a friend of mine who used to be on the VIPD told me that as much as 40% of the workforce is retired on the job. They are still on the payroll but don't come to work. They just collect their paychecks.

So don't think that things will change soon. Enjoy the Rum and the weather and the friends and PROTECT YOURSELVES because the police won't protect you.

Until the local people dem want change, it will not happen. And they are the ones who keep electing unqualified people for the highest jobs in the territory.

It absolutely is the whole island but where do you start to solve the problem? IMO the best place to start would be the schools. Trying to teach or show the islanders a new way is never appreciated, so start young. Just by getting a decent education most of these kids lives would turn out much different. They would have more of a future.

http://stcroixsource.com/content/news/local-news/2009/09/01/police-seek-link-between-homicide-and-robbery-attempt

Rotorhead is exactly correct.
Everything flows down hill be it water, ca ca, or attitude.
If the top of the heap are setting a bad example then everyone down the chain thinks they are cleared to do the same.

What scares me even worse is I fear the mainland US is on the same path..
When the majority see bad government as in their personal best interests what is the likelihood they will vote against their own interests?

I may be a NoOb but I've heard "newarrival" spew her stuff before (not necessarily in open forum). And for someone from NYC, she seems to be a little "excitable".

As a soon to be "new arrival", what is the straight dope? What is the truth? Obviously, everyone has their own opinion but seriously...I live in the crime capitol of the US (Atlanta). I've seen it all. I've seen "Section 8". I've seen "slums". I've seen "random murders" and "drug related" stuff. I've seen (and know) "crooked cops".

Does anyone here have a RATIONAL view of crime in the USVI? Is it really a "wild west" type of thing?

Please keep in mind...your opinion isn't going to change my mind about moving. TRW seems to be the most "rational".

Help? Anyone?

STX is a great place to live,most of our neighborhoods are good ones,like trade says we don't wear bullet proof vest to go and buy milk,90 percent of the people that live here want to just be able to raise their kids, work and live their lives in peace,it's the truly random shocking crime that gets to most of us,peters murder, the god guy on STT that picked up the 2 hitchhikers,most of the murders here are payment for something from the vic and the perps background,you know "you dissed me,or you took my woman,you stole from me"

I think one of the most important things about crime is you have to have common sense and be aware that you can not relay on the police at all and have to be able to protect yourself.

How can you teach the young in this welfare place?
The incentive is to have more children, so you get a bigger paycheck stolen from the taxpayers, given by the government.

The problem is when people are using the system and making it a way of life. Unfortunately, many learn that they can receive more if they don't work, so they don't even try. They also keep having more children, often with the same person, but they won't marry because that would affect their benefits.

As suggested before, what about the idea of dug testing welfare recipients(whether rich or poor)?

The gangsters were always loved by the working (and now too lazy to work) class.
Now, we have gangsters robbing, killing & selling drugs(and are idolized by their welfare "wives" & clidren).

In the old days, you had Bonnie's and Clyde robbing banks, but leaving some for the poor, this made them heros.
We now have the government robbing taxpayers to GIVE to the banks & the poor!

Bottom line, there is great incentive to be a gangster & a welfare recipient!

I think the thing that galls me is that after all that, they want our respect! Unbelievable. Today is a day of fasting and prayer for the people of these islands, for an easing of the violence and for stand-up people to make a difference in the government. In places where the people join in prayer for the communities God does bring about change.

Antiqueone, per capa stx has more churches then any place else on earth..............so when is the God thing gonna change this island?
It will take more than a prayer unfortunately.......................

Having a church and having God in your life are unfortunately seperate and only loosely correlated things...as evidenced by STX.

Antiqueone, per capa stx has more churches then any place else on earth..............so when is the God thing gonna change this island?
It will take more than a prayer unfortunately.......................