pickled greek robbery

That is precisely what I mean by innocent

innocent youth. innocent young men and women, innocent men and women, innocent elderly men and women....NOT just 8 year olds. JUST BECAUSE one LIVES in the projects does not mean they are all involved in criminal activities.

Peter a GUN RUNNER?? Oh Please! I have known Peter since 1997. He was so honest he didn't even want to perform copyrighted music because it is actually illegal unless you pay royalties. I don't know whether to laugh or cry. Peter des Jardins was a gentle, loving soul who went out of his way to help everyone. Please don't place unfounded and stupid suspicions in any arena where people who don't know the truth may actually believe it. Today is Peter's Memorial at Hotel on the Cay. Please attend if you can. If you can't remember the caring, loving father, fiance, friend and community ambassador. Spend some time reflecting on how each of us can do something positive for St. Croix. When was the last time YOU gave a bit of your time to volunteer to make things better? Posting complaints and insinuations on line won't do anything but increase suspicion and separate the people of our island. Over the years, I went frequently to hear Peter play. He and Tonya were a happy loving couple. Peter ALWAYS was available to walk anyone who was there alone to their car to protect their safety. I hold his memory in my heart. My love and prayers go out to Tonya, Ruby, Nick, Eileen and his entire family and family of choice. He will be greatly missed.

My son and I went to Peter's memorial celebration this evening. He would have been so pleased! There were lots and lots of people who knew him in some way or another. I've known Peter my whole life since he first came here. My half sister is related to him thru the Bishop side. Peter played music in the same circuit as my dad. BTW...the gun running thing is just plain silly. If one chooses to partake in it, they will just look like an idiot. Shame on whoever started it.

Memorial service was great! So many friends came out to celebrate and join in fellowship. As I left about 8pm, boatloads of folks were still coming in. Indeed, Peter would have approved.

My fed friend say it sounds like she is reading too many Tom Clancy novels.

Another project kid was shot in JFK last night during a fight..................no innocent bystander.

So what if anything is happening?

NOTHING--I have lost faith in our VIPD, Crimestoppers and all the other BS law enforcement agencies on this Island.

something like 11 this month...

I am so sad to hear that NO ONE has a clue who did this to Peter.........

The rumor mill says the police are well aware of who did it; so much for our VIPD

That is the same attitude the police had when I lived there in 1981. I also remember an owner or partner of a bar/resturant was shot by a policeman. I don't remember the details but it was the officer's fault. I think it was an officer from PR that was working on STX back them

benta was on the radio trying to say is was a hit not a robbery,peter called in the next day to set the record straight,so the police chief is trying to blame the victim,someone needs to raise some serious hell over that one

Read TRW's comment on the Peter Des Jardin murder "investigation". Ironically, Troy's case is just another "blame the victum" senerio. How many of last years murders were solved?

i just heard troy's info on crime stoppers last week. i do miss his posts and he was a great server.

I think we can all agree that the Keystone Cops will NEVER solve Peters, Troys, or Bobs cases.

The FBI should be called in for Bob immediately!!

When the Perez girl (14 year old cruise ship passenger) was gunned down in Smith Bay and the story made national news, the cops jumped into action. Kinda hard to "blame the victim" when the victim is on her Quinc trip, sitting next her dad in taxi on the way to beach. Within a week the cops made an arrest and had a conviction inside of a year--a VI record. The Smith Bay Community Action group now receives government support and attention. Maybe the Pressure story will inspire some action, too. But I doubt it. After all he is black man.... Like TRW said...."someone needs to raise some serious hell over that one"....

How many of last years murders were solved?

In 2010, the USVI arrest rate was higher than the stateside average. I haven't seen or looked for 2011 stats.

From http://stcroixsource.com/content/news/local-news/2011/01/03/homicide-rate-set-record-2010-gains-were-made dated Jan 3, 2011, with emphasis added:

Francis also pointed to the effectiveness of the Crime Stoppers V.I. program, the anonymous tip service that has been bringing in information for the police to act on.

But the most important factor, he said, has been hard, aggressive police work, which has resulted in a very high "clearance" rate.

"We're not proud of the numbers (of homicides) we have seen," he said. "We don't have any control over the murders that are committed, we have the responsibility to solve them."

And the V.I.P.D. has been getting very good at that. Their clearance rate has been between 67 and 73 percent all year, better than the national average, which according to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports is 65 percent for homicides.

"We don't have any control over the murders that are committed, we have the responsibility to solve them."

I beg to differ. I think that if the police were doing their jobs in general, a little prevention would go a long way. You certainly cannot prevent every murder, but I think increased surveillance, education, and locking up criminals before they get around to committing their first murder could make a difference. If the police are just going to sit around waiting for murders to happen and THEN spring into action, what are we paying them for? The victim is already dead.

I agree, that is a pretty stupid comment to say they have no control over crime. But perhaps they really believe it and that is part of the problem.

How many of last years murders were solved?

In 2010, the USVI arrest rate was higher than the stateside average. I haven't seen or looked for 2011 stats.

From http://stcroixsource.com/content/news/local-news/2011/01/03/homicide-rate-set-record-2010-gains-were-made dated Jan 3, 2011, with emphasis added:

Francis also pointed to the effectiveness of the Crime Stoppers V.I. program, the anonymous tip service that has been bringing in information for the police to act on.

But the most important factor, he said, has been hard, aggressive police work, which has resulted in a very high "clearance" rate.

"We're not proud of the numbers (of homicides) we have seen," he said. "We don't have any control over the murders that are committed, we have the responsibility to solve them."

And the V.I.P.D. has been getting very good at that. Their clearance rate has been between 67 and 73 percent all year, better than the national average, which according to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports is 65 percent for homicides.

BOB, Where did find 67-73% clearance rate for murders? Do the figures ctie specific cases? How come more arrest don't stick, more convictions completed?

"We don't have any control over the murders that are committed, we have the responsibility to solve them."

I beg to differ. I think that if the police were doing their jobs in general, a little prevention would go a long way. You certainly cannot prevent every murder, but I think increased surveillance, education, and locking up criminals before they get around to committing their first murder could make a difference. If the police are just going to sit around waiting for murders to happen and THEN spring into action, what are we paying them for? The victim is already dead.

Former Commissioner Francis may have misspoken. According to the article at http://stcroixsource.com/content/news/local-news/2011/01/03/homicide-rate-set-record-2010-gains-were-made , police were taking several steps at that time to prevent crime, such as saturated patrols, the anti-gang task force, and work in some of the troubled housing communities.

BOB, Where did [you] find 67-73% clearance rate for murders? Do the figures ctie specific cases? How come more arrest don't stick, more convictions completed?

The 67-73% clearance rate for murders was a direct quote from the same news article at http://stcroixsource.com/content/news/local-news/2011/01/03/homicide-rate-set-record-2010-gains-were-made .

The article does not quote specific cases as being cleared.

If arrests don't lead to convictions, I can only speculate from random articles that I've read that it's poor work by police and prosecutors, or somebody lied under oath, or the suspect didn't do it. Sometimes the judge is blamed, but their jobs are pretty transparent, so that's probably the least likely reason.

One of the problems here is the lack of a Crime Lab. All forensics are sent off island for processing and take a very long time. DNA is sent to the FBI lab which can take six months or more to process. It is also very expensive. Because of this in many cases the police do not even bother to collect forensic evidence.

In the case of Bob Johnson, a group of his friends arranged to have the evidence sent to a private lab at a cost of around $40,000. This was paid for by private sources. I was told that this could take five or six weeks to get results back. Much quicker than the FBI lab. I still have hope that Bob's murderer will be arrested.

One of the problems here is the lack of a Crime Lab. All forensics are sent off island for processing and take a very long time. DNA is sent to the FBI lab which can take six months or more to process. It is also very expensive. Because of this in many cases the police do not even bother to collect forensic evidence.

In the case of Bob Johnson, a group of his friends arranged to have the evidence sent to a private lab at a cost of around $40,000. This was paid for by private sources. I was told that this could take five or six weeks to get results back. Much quicker than the FBI lab. I still have hope that Bob's murderer will be arrested.

Me too. Shrugging off acts of violence is not the answer. I suppose many families wish they could afford in dependant investigations and bring closure to their loss.

I thought that the VI had some sort of crime lab. Wasn't an officer found dead inside the lab a few years ago? The VIPD declared suicide and family suspected murder?

On the brighter side (trying hard here) I suspect that providing stats to FBI will help the local PD win Federal grant money. Has to be some sort of money explanation behind this new "transparency".

blu, i thought that was a female officer who was in the evidence locker. either way, it was a bit suspicious