When does the violence stop?

I don't have an interest in comparing the demographics of murders here on STX and in other cities in the states.

But what does interest me would be the arrest, conviction and punishment rates here and elsewhere. What really irritates me in the local press is reading about a high profile murder or other serious crime right after it happens. Then, I rarely read another word about it ever again!

It's amazing that the reporters and press just drop the story like a hot potato. In every other place I've lived, the story is followed to its conclusion.

Well, I guess if there is no arrest or even a police follow-up, that IS the end of the crime and story. I can start listing the front page murders that have never been properly investigated or solved, but that's too frustrating. What a place we live in.

I do not have VI stats but stateside 35%+ of murders are unsolved

http://www.npr.org/2015/03/30/395069137/open-cases-why-one-third-of-murders-in-america-go-unresolved

I don't have an interest in comparing the demographics of murders here on STX and in other cities in the states.

But what does interest me would be the arrest, conviction and punishment rates here and elsewhere. What really irritates me in the local press is reading about a high profile murder or other serious crime right after it happens. Then, I rarely read another word about it ever again!

It's amazing that the reporters and press just drop the story like a hot potato. In every other place I've lived, the story is followed to its conclusion.

Well, I guess if there is no arrest or even a police follow-up, that IS the end of the crime and story. I can start listing the front page murders that have never been properly investigated or solved, but that's too frustrating. What a place we live in.

Exactly!

to show, again, correlation between poverty and murder rates.

If the intent of this statistical sampling of high crime areas was to demonstrate the correlation between poverty and murder rates, I am with you. This correlation is well established in numerous studies.

It's just such sampling can also be used as an excuse, using the arguments such as "crime happens everywhere", "it's no worse than it is in the states", and "it has always been that way".

It IS no worse than areas in the States with high poverty. That is my only point. It needs to be fixed.

I do not have VI stats but stateside 35%+ of murders are unsolved

VIPD claims that only 33% of murders are unsolved.

I don't have an interest in comparing the demographics of murders here on STX and in other cities in the states.

But what does interest me would be the arrest, conviction and punishment rates here and elsewhere. What really irritates me in the local press is reading about a high profile murder or other serious crime right after it happens. Then, I rarely read another word about it ever again!

It's amazing that the reporters and press just drop the story like a hot potato. In every other place I've lived, the story is followed to its conclusion.

Well, I guess if there is no arrest or even a police follow-up, that IS the end of the crime and story. I can start listing the front page murders that have never been properly investigated or solved, but that's too frustrating. What a place we live in.

Yes, and when the victims were people I knew, as several were, it is even more frustrating. And, when you look at the particular murders, each was different...one older man killed in his long-time home, another younger, in his home though in a different part of the island, another during a robbery in a restaurant, yet another late at night out on a main road in a somewhat residential/commercial area.. So probably all unconnected with each other, but no further info re investigations etc, and it's been years in some cases.

It needs to be fixed.

I'd be interested to know how you'd "fix" poverty. We've been doing it since 1933, without much success.

I do not have VI stats but stateside 35%+ of murders are unsolved

VIPD claims that only 33% of murders are unsolved.

The VIPD that couldn't pass 7th grade-level tests? I'd like to see their "research"- it'd be a treat! :D:D

It IS no worse than areas in the States with high poverty. That is my only point.

Another swing and miss! I've been to desperately poor southern towns that had no murders at all. There is a violence problem here that cannot be completely explained by poverty. Correlation =/= causation.

People who grew up here (and are honest about it) know that there is a culture of violence that is unrelated to poverty. My parents' generation didn't go around shooting and stabbing people at parties for looking at them in a manner they do not like. People would be amazed to discover how petty most of these "beefs" are. East vs. West? Come on.

I'd like to see their "research"- it'd be a treat! :D:D

I'd love to see that, too. As I understand it, the Freedom of Information Act is applicable in USVI.

I'd like to see their "research"- it'd be a treat! :D:D

I'd love to see that, too. As I understand it, the Freedom of Information Act is applicable in USVI.

There is no way to extract documents from this government that might be somewhat politically embarrassing. It's flagrantly illegal, but they continue to block attempts to view even the most innocuous records. Because we do not have an independent AG, all records will remain permanently sealed despite having a law that requires the exact opposite. This is a good summation of the sheer number of records requests about Mapp's traveling that have been ignored: http://virginislandsdailynews.com/news/mapp-continues-to-rebuff-record-requests-1.1938876

Quote from RMB2830:

Yes, and when the victims were people I knew, as several were, it is even more frustrating. And, when you look at the particular murders, each was different...one older man killed in his long-time home, another younger, in his home though in a different part of the island, another during a robbery in a restaurant, yet another late at night out on a main road in a somewhat residential/commercial area.. So probably all unconnected with each other, but no further info re investigations etc, and it's been years in some cases.

RMB....I relate completely to what you've written above. I also believe I knew most of the people you referred to who were murdered with absolutely no solving of the crime.

In one case of a friend, the press reported that the forensics were 100% completely botched at the scene. The police didn't get a blood sample at the crime scene? Realllly??!

What also makes me feel hopeless here is when I read news reports of crimes in huge cities like New York. One random criminal comes to Times Square to bomb and kill people but disappears, fortunately, without accomplishing his mission. Within hours, thanks to just plain good police work, they arrest the criminal in another state!

Here, someone gets shot in a restaurant full of people, on a small island, and to this day....not one suspect? Come on. That's beyond bad policing. It's disgusting.

Multiply that by dozens more "unsolved" murders of good people and friends who were NOT gang members. The police here are either complicit, or, totally and completely incompetent. Take your pick. It's just mind boggling that the citizens put up with this kind of daily life.

Here, someone gets shot in a restaurant full of people, on a small island, and to this day....not one suspect? Come on. That's beyond bad policing. It's disgusting.

right

only posted the link because someone wanted stats for a small city ( in florida ) , though i chose LHC.

btw Monogram-it is a nice town. Love going there.

Violence can only stop/decline when gangs are eliminated.

Could the low solve rate of crimes be directly related to the fact that the criminals are related to or friends of our elected officials or government employees or just have the right last name?

Could the low solve rate of crimes be directly related to the fact that the criminals are related to or friends of our elected officials or government employees or just have the right last name?

A great example of this--where every single flippng judge recused themselves and a habitual murder (son of a popular woman) got off:

"All of the V.I. Superior Court judges on St. Croix recused themselves from hearing the matter, citing multiple conflicts - knowing both Ritter's family and Phillips' family and because Phillips' mother is an employee of the court."

By the way, that victim was killed over a PARKING SPOT. So much for the "the drug trade causes violence" BS. Most murders are over petty nonsense.

http://virginislandsdailynews.com/news/st-thomas-jurist-to-oversee-st-croix-murder-trial-starting-today-1.1722295

A great example of this--where every single flippng judge recused themselves and a habitual murder (son of a popular woman) got off:

What I find bewildering about this case is not that the judges recused themselves (after all, impartiality is at stake), but that the jury returned a "not guilty" verdict on every single charge, including the possession of illegal firearm.

How on Earth can this happen? The defendant stabbed one person 8 times, then he shot a second person, then he kills a third person. And the jury lets him go? How is it possible?

A great example of this--where every single flippng judge recused themselves and a habitual murder (son of a popular woman) got off:

What I find bewildering about this case is not that the judges recused themselves (after all, impartiality is at stake), but that the jury returned a "not guilty" verdict on every single charge, including the possession of illegal firearm.

How on Earth can this happen? The defendant stabbed one person 8 times, then he shot a second person, then he kills a third person. And the jury lets him go? How is it possible?

It's funny- that guy is quite popular with the ladies, especially transplants. Little do they know...

In all seriousness-- It's time to federalize our prosecution/court system. This was supposed to be an open and shut case. The guy is a habitual violent offender who shot a guy over a parking space outside a crowded party. Only a matter of time before he kills again.

In all seriousness-- It's time to federalize our prosecution/court system. This was supposed to be an open and shut case. The guy is a habitual violent offender who shot a guy over a parking space outside a crowded party. Only a matter of time before he kills again.

But how would federalizing the prosecution/court system make a difference in this case, if it were the same jurors?

It IS no worse than areas in the States with high poverty. That is my only point.

Another swing and miss! I've been to desperately poor southern towns that had no murders at all. There is a violence problem here that cannot be completely explained by poverty. Correlation =/= causation.

People who grew up here (and are honest about it) know that there is a culture of violence that is unrelated to poverty. My parents' generation didn't go around shooting and stabbing people at parties for looking at them in a manner they do not like. People would be amazed to discover how petty most of these "beefs" are. East vs. West? Come on.

It is more than just poverty obviously but every city in worst 30 list in America shares poverty levels similar to here. Not every poverty stricken town is violent, but every violent city is poverty stricken. I'm from Michigan, originally. We had Detroit, a Flint, and Saginaw in 10 most violent cities. They have become increasingly violent as people have left, leaving a smaller tax base which further erodes already poor services including schools and hospitals. These cities and their younger residents, and I know many, have a sense of hopelessness. It is more than gangs, although they are a big part. It is more than family bonds, although having a nuclear family is statistically better as far as crime. I wonder if the sense of hopelessness is prevalent here? Perhaps you could shed some light.

In all seriousness-- It's time to federalize our prosecution/court system. This was supposed to be an open and shut case. The guy is a habitual violent offender who shot a guy over a parking space outside a crowded party. Only a matter of time before he kills again.

But how would federalizing the prosecution/court system make a difference in this case, if it were the same jurors?

Feds have the same Virgin Islands jury pool yet much higher conviction rates on cases brought to trial. You and I would probably have voted not guilty had we seen an incompetent presentation by the VI government's lawyers.

In all seriousness-- It's time to federalize our prosecution/court system. This was supposed to be an open and shut case. The guy is a habitual violent offender who shot a guy over a parking space outside a crowded party. Only a matter of time before he kills again.

But how would federalizing the prosecution/court system make a difference in this case, if it were the same jurors?

Feds have the same Virgin Islands jury pool yet much higher conviction rates on cases brought to trial. You and I would probably have voted not guilty had we seen an incompetent presentation by the VI government's lawyers.

This might be a controversial point, but I don't see the need for a local judiciary in a United States federal territory. Just more money wasted and opportunities to bungle cases.

Feds have the same Virgin Islands jury pool yet much higher conviction rates on cases brought to trial. You and I would probably have voted not guilty had we seen an incompetent presentation by the VI government's lawyers.

Ok, this makes sense now, thanks.