Well...

Yes, a million and half dollar publicity campaign is exactly what we need! That will prevent future tourists from being killed during their 8 hour visits to the islands!

If this isn't a wake up call, I don't know what is.

And you believe that the Police department will actually do this? By the way why was Coki empty of Drug dealers? It was the police doing their job which will last about a week or so. The they will leave and they will be back if the tourists return?

Billd

Lip service I'm afraid.
I hope they prove me wrong!

Question that I'm almost afraid to ask but will anyway:

Where are all of these guns coming from? I've never noticed a gunshop while in town. Why can't we start with a sweep of them? I'm sure that over 90% of the guns on island are not registered and a large portion of those are owned by convicted felons and the like.

If this truly were a wake up call, you'd expect to see a HUGE effort to reduce crime, wouldn't you? What we see instead is an effort to appease the cruise lines by insulating their passengers from our excessively high crime rates. Totally predictable.

"....a $1.2 million marketing campaign to highlight the positive aspects of the Virgin Islands..." could backfire on us. A lot of folks have lost confidence that the VI is a safe travel destination. If ya wanna win them back, show them that you're making substantial efforts to address the problems. Personally, I don't think that a fluff campaign with pictures of mangoes and pretty beaches will accomplish that goal....

The way I see it is Tourism is doing their job. What would everyone say if they sat back, business as usual, and did nothing to alleviate what could be catastrophic repercussions? This in no way demeans the lives of the victims, nor does it substitute for real change in the police department and criminal justice system, but letting the main economic force on STT go down the tubes doesn't help anyone. It is so frustrating, and I agree the residents need to be as safe as the tourists. I'm just saying Tourism's job is tourists, and at least they are stepping up to the plate and getting their job done. Now, if other departments will just follow suit.....

Where are the guns coming from? Sadly, some on the island believe it's a conspiracy by unnamed US govt elements to keep the black man poor, in jail, and oppressed. At least that's what Mario Moorehead "uh-humms" to when certain callers phone his radio program. The logic of escapes me but this is in keeping with the HIV and Crack conspiracy theories.

Truth is, many people on this island and in our country are living in an alternate universe.