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Topic starter
I generally don't like to bring things up here, but I found this article too interesting to pass up:
Virgin Islands Daily News article
An interesting quote from the article:
The record 66 homicides committed across the territory in 2010 is 10 more than in 2009, and makes the Virgin Islands is the most violent place in the United States, on a per-capita basis.
The territory has about 110,000 residents, according to the latest projections, which means the Virgin Islands' per-capita homicide rate is 60 homicides per 100,000 people.
The United States has a nationwide rate of 5.2 homicides per 100,000.
Compared with the most recent statistics available, which are from 2008, that number would rank the territory second in the world, behind only Honduras, for the number of homicides per 100,000 residents.
According to the FBI, New Orleans had the highest murder rate of municipalities per 100,000 residents in the United States in 2009 with 28 homicides per 100,000. The trend through June 2010 was that murders were up significantly across the nation.
Honduras in 2008 had 60.8 per 100,000, so it was only marginally worse.
To be fair:
"The majority of the crime that we have seen - from 60 to 70 percent - was from violent retaliation," Francis said.
And this is heartening:
Police are solving the cases at a higher rate - 67 percent
Posted : January 14, 2011 7:37 pm
They may be solving them but what's the actual conviction rate. Seems like way too many get a slap on the wrist or totally get off. I totally think the crime is getting worse. Don't know how many innocent people will have to die before people stop saying things like it's just criminal on criminal.
Posted : January 14, 2011 8:23 pm
a boy who was out on bond for the shooting that killed two at coki point was arrested again months later for assault?? he got 15 years for that but why was he out in the first place.
correct my facts if they need corrected.
Posted : January 14, 2011 10:41 pm
Topic starter
This is good:
After a contentious two-week trial, a jury Friday found V.I. Police Department officers Enid Edwards and Francis Brooks guilty of 22 counts of racketeering, drug trafficking, bribery, conspiracy, extortion, kidnapping and conflict of interest.
The third defendant, Port Authority officer Bill John-Baptiste, was found guilty of a single charge of kidnapping, and not guilty on the seven other counts.
Certainly not all of the officers are corrupt there. For instance, I personally know STT Police Chief Rodney Querrard. He is an honest, hard working, ethical and moral person, and I am glad to see he was rewarded with his position. I am sure he had a hand in seeing that these three criminals with badges were brought to justice.
Posted : January 15, 2011 12:23 pm
I generally don't like to bring things up here, but I found this article too interesting to pass up:
Virgin Islands Daily News article
An interesting quote from the article:
The record 66 homicides committed across the territory in 2010 is 10 more than in 2009, and makes the Virgin Islands is the most violent place in the United States, on a per-capita basis.
Unfortunately, this isn't really news. I believe it's been the state of things, more or less, for the ten years I've been here.
IT
Posted : January 15, 2011 6:23 pm
Are there many people that provide information on crimes? Do people help each other out with neighborhood watches and such?
Posted : January 17, 2011 1:29 am
Are there many people that provide information on crimes?
Do you mean are there people who provide tips about criminal activity to the police? Yes, people can submit tips anonymously via Crime Stoppers USVI http://www.crimestoppersusvi.org/ and get a cash reward of up to $2500 if their information leads to an arrest, recovery of stolen property, illegal drugs or guns. I am a volunteer with Crime Stoppers USVI. We have been active here for just over 2 years. As of 12/31/2010, we have received 931 anonymous tips that helped law enforcement make 101 arrests, and we've authorized $81,167 in cash rewards, and paid out $34,385. Most tipsters don't collect their reward. They just want to get their info to the police, and get the bad guys off the streets.
Also, more people are now talking directly to the police. There is a culture here of, "If you snitch, you die," which made people hesitant to tell the police anything, but that is being overcome by Crime Stoppers (anonymous tips, so nobody knows who gave the info) and by VIPD initiatives like Community Oriented Policing, which is building the people's trust in the police.
Do people help each other out with neighborhood watches and such?
Yes, neighborhood watches are very effective.
Posted : January 17, 2011 5:31 pm
