Is Crime in STX really that bad?

With all the reports of homes being burglarized there do people typically have securtiy systems? And are there decent, reasonably priced companies that offer service there?

We were burglarized in our 6th month here on STX.
It made us much more alert and cautious, but the dream is still alive.

Almost everyone we've met down here has some kind of island crime story. That said, we don't feel unsafe, just wiser.

Lived in a nice suburb of Columbus Oh for 12 years and never had a break-in on our street, but last week we heard that our former neighbors two doors down up there were broken into. It's a fact, as the economy goes, so go the crime statistics.

IMHO...The positives of living here still out-weigh the negatives. But this is no place for naive or fearful people.

I, too, feel so encouraged to read how many people haven't had issues.
Precautions we take... when we go to a restaurant, only one of us brings a phone (leave the other one at home). Also only one of us brings a set of keys. I try not to have things on me that I couldn't stand to lose. There is no especially safe place to park - I know cars have been stolen from the government parking lot.
We moved to a gated community.

We are planning to leave in June (never bought a place here, just have been renting) due exclusively to the crime. I like so many other things about the island more than anywhere else. It is almost perfect.

Wow, this is pretty sad. I lived in STX in 1981-83 and I remember that pretty much everyone I knew had a crime story back then too. What is the deal the the Projects? Do they have any on STJ or just STX and STT? Our projects in FL are pretty much all the drug dealers...go figure...we pay for them?? DUHHH
Is it the same in STX? I remember that they DID have drugs in the projects BIG TIME there back then

Meowruff, your post makes me so sad. 🙁 Has this happened at your school before? I'm so sorry.

Yeah, it's pretty ironic: we all pay to house the same people who, in turn, terroize and rob us. Socialism in action.

Wow... this sounds awful like you are living in the worst neighborhood in the bronx. Choosing which spouse takes their cell phone to dinner? Being mugged and burglarized on what sounds like a regular basis?

Why don't the police do more about the problem? It sounds like STX is an incredibly frightening place to live from the posts made here 🙁

oh but it's not,not at all,one simply needs to be aware of their surroundings just like you do everywhere else in the world,you know like malls and schools in the states

We've lived here 11 years and fortunately have only been the victims of home burglaries (about 5 times). No muggings. We lived many years just East of the Bucaneer entrance in a nice secluded area. Unfortunately, the thieves realized no one else was around when we went to work. We even have two HUGE dogs. Once I came home and the thieves actually took my two dogs up to my sheep pasture and put them in with the sheep before coming back to rob our house. Once my wife noticed the living room light on about 5am. When I stumbled out (naked) to check on things (assuming I left the light on), I came face to face with a home invader. After yelling (ie cusing him) he bolted for the door and ran away. My thoughts were that if I had a gun and did use on this thief, his "cousins" would more than likely come back later for payback. I'm fortunate things turned out well in that case. I moved a year and 1/2 ago near Juanita (around Princess/St. John) and have been broken into here too (also with two big dogs "guarding" the place). In all the cases the thieves hit quick and took a little cash and jewelry. My advise to others is to hide your prized possessions in a place the thieves will not look. I know someone who keeps their laptop at all times in between the dirty clothes. Back then we used to keep jewelry in a jewelry box on the dresser. Go figure, jewelry in a jewelry box...HOW STUPID!! I also once had all my important papers in a fire safe that sat on the dresser. That was stupid too as the thieves saw it from the outside window and broke in just to steal that. Nothing of value to them, but they just had to break in and steal it to find out. This time we also had ADT alarm service. They went in anyways for the safe, with the alarm system blaring. The response time is just to long and the thieves know it. After ADT is setup, I think it costs about $35/month. Probably a good deterrant, but not a sure thing.

I once went kayaking at Salt River and as I paddled out I looked back and saw my truck hood open and two guys trying to get my battery out. I had to turn around and they left. Regardless, that was the end of my kayak day.

I've avoided muggings by not going out much at night. If I do, I go with friends and I go to well known places that have security.

Besides these cases, i've had lots of small hassels....things have gone missing around my yard and from the back of my truck.

All this said, I feel lucky to have lived here 11 years and I've not seen a gun. I've also never seen drugs here. Sure they are here in abundance, i just don't play that game.

I could fill a book though about friends and other folks being victims of crime. It is dangerous here, so take care of yourselves and remember to hide anything you don't want to lose forever. Don't wait till they break in to secure your valuables.

Oh yeah, after losing some personal jewelry, I've actually buried my precious thing in a PVC pipe in the ground. Kinda defeats the purpose of having them, but at least I still have them.

Finally, the golden rule here is don't bring ANYONE to your house that you think may not be 100% trustworthy. Some people here are just looking for the next victim. Playing friendly, while "cooping" your things. This includes workers that you may hire to work around the house or in the yard. be careful who you bring around.

Yeah, I am tired of all the breakins. We have just scaled down our valuables and are prepared to lose "things". We keep the doors locked now almost all the time (including when we are home). Generators and weedeaters are always chained and locked. even our cars are locked at night.

As for BIG dogs, it seems they work best if trained to protect. Ours are just too friendly and fortunately the thieves did not poison them to get in as is often the case.

So, I'm not trying to be a downer about STX. We do love it here for many many reasons. I just wanted to share the info I have on crime.

Now, beach time!

if it was that bad here do you honestly think disney would bring their ships to our pier

I doubt that it is any worse or as bad as most any other island. I know a couple of years ago when we went to Roatan, we went to the grocery store. They had armed guards with sawed off shot guns guarding the cash registers. The bank only allowed one person at a time and the door was guarded by a policeman / military? with a M16. Never seen anything like that on STX.

We have been on STX 3 years come June. Never been a victim of any crime. I personally have only met 2 people who have had a break in. Both of those break ins were in the middle of the day and were done by construction workers working on a house near by. It would be interesting if we could find out what victims of break ins have in common such as neighborhoods, do you have house keepers or gardeners, gated community or not, regular schedules like going to work at a certain time every day, ect.

if it was that bad here do you honestly think disney would bring their ships to our pier

Uh, isn't that why most of the STX cruise ships stopped coming to STX? I seem to remember an article in the Daily News outlining muggings happening on the dock...

NoOne,
It didn't take you long to jump in on this subject, anytime crime is mentioned your right there. How old would that article be. You don't live on the island and your last address on the island was the jail correct!

no they actually stopped coming because there is nothing really here for the passengers to do other than the beach and they used crime as an excuse because i believe on 2 or 3 occasions passengers and crew had ventured into a couple of shady areas to buy drugs,and so to restate what i said earlier do you honestly think if it was that bad here disney would come with families and children

aquaponics, the thieves put your two big guard dogs in with the sheep?! That would definitely be a funny story if it wasn't also so bad that you got robbed. Sounds like it was done by someone who has already been to your house, and knows your dogs are friendly. Most people are scared of big dogs that they don't know. I'm curious to know what breed are these big, friendly, obedient dogs that happily hang out with a flock of sheep? You have obviously raised them to be very nice dogs, too bad sometimes it is better to be mean. I had my dog poisoned on another island - it was terrible, and I would still personally like to kill whoever did it.

Could someone here pm me or tell me what areas are st croix i should avoid during the day/night? I would like to not learn from experience, and just know what are areas i should avoid.

I was wondering about all the homes right on the water? I have heard of robbers boating right up to the homes, breaking in , stealing everything they could carry and taking off in boats? I look at the MLS listings and see a lot of upscale homes for sale and wondered if this was part of the problem?

NoOne,
It didn't take you long to jump in on this subject, anytime crime is mentioned your right there. How old would that article be. You don't live on the island and your last address on the island was the jail correct!

If you look at other recent threads on crime, I have stayed out of them.

The article was about the same time the cruise ship companies, for the most part, stopped going to STX.

My last address on the island was my own apartment and I lived there while supervising putting the flat hypalon roofing on the airport in STT. I was offered a job stateside and took the job.

Again, I grew up on the island and have many close friends there. It is well within my business to comment on the islands, at least as much as anyone else - I feel the comments I make go both ways, good and bad.

It is true I was involved in crime on the islands. I was only caught once, for assault, even though my friends and I committed thousands of crimes. I feel I am reformed now and have no desire to commit any crime.

Do not make a mistake: the rates for all crime on the islands are among the worst in the entire USofA. We never had any fear for the police, because the police on the islands are too stupid, incompetent and are easily paid off. Like I said before, I was part of one murder that the then police chief and the now police chief were directly involved in and that was covered up, because of my fathers close association with the police force. Yeah, dad sold cocaine, in large amounts - quite often bribing police officers with it. It is a hell of a thing to wake up to people shooting at each other, in your home, as a teenager.

I have to finish my book and get it published. I had a professor of english at a local college read it and she said it was exceptionally well written...

Committed thousands of crimes including murder & now you look to profit more from it. Please stay wherever you are.

And quit bragging about it.

no0ne, Maybe you could be of some help here. Did you burglarize houses and or rob people? If so, what would you look for when robbing a house or a person? Would it be a house that was out in the open or more secluded? Were specific types of people targeted? If you don't want to post publicly please PM me. Thanks.

aquaponics--just curious about all your break-ins...did you not lock your doors before all the robberies? How did the tiefs get in all those times? The one time I was robbed about 2 years ago was when I left the door unlocked and my neighbors took advantage of the opportunity. I don't think they would have tried it if the door was locked. And usually I always keep the door locked whether I'm there or not, but the night in question was a rum-induced lapse.

In the apartment I'm in now, there are burglar bars on the windows so unless someone hacked them off, then hacked up the louvres or simply broke down the dead-bolted door, it would be pretty hard to get in. I would think that going through all these steps to get into a home would be a deterrent and they might just give up, but perhaps I am just naive??

Also, I have heard that east-end homes are targeted more for robberies but that could just be rumor.

stxm
one of the robberies on my bf's job, they used a blow torch to get through the door. i also know someone who was living off island at the time their house was broken into. i heard they even got the appliances

It sounds like you know the area well..I wil be doing an extended stay this summer on the island...what areas should a single female (with a 16 year old son) be avoiding or what areas would be good for a safe rental? I'd love to hear from anyone who knows the island