The management of the Dutch Caribbean Police Force is pleased to announce that the crime rates generally show a declining trend on Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba.
Recently KPCN, together with the Public Prosecutor’s Office, presented the crime figures for 2015 to both the Executive Council, Island Council and the press on Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba.
The realization that the increase or decrease in crime has multiple factors, is there. But there is no denying that the police deployment is an important factor.
The figures for last year show a clear downward trend, despite the fact that KPCN is dealing with a tight occupation.
Given the figures, it can be concluded that in 2015 the number of road accidents involving injuries declined slightly while the number of traffic accidents with only damage increased slightly on Bonaire.
Robberies have declined by 39% and halved compared with 2013. Threats and domestic violence shows a decrease of about 25% and cases of assault, public violence and murder/manslaughter remained unchanged. Domestic burglaries have seen a decline of 13%, while business burglaries increased by 40%. The total number of property crimes decreased by 29%. Drug-related offenses have remained the same. The number of traffic accidents in 2015 on St. Eustatius shows that they have remained stable. In 2015 there were eight accidents with injuries. In 2015, one robbery was committed compared to 3 in 2014; abuse cases have remained stable. Domestic violence and sexual offenses have declined by 50%.
Domestic burglaries have seen a decline of 50%, but an increase of 50% can be seen in business burglaries. The total number of property crimes increased slightly. There is also a notable increase in theft of motor vehicles and scooters. The drug-related offenses remained stable. At the end of 2015 a group of minors who are suspected of a series of robberies were detained.
Saba has seen a drop in road accidents by 50% and a decrease of 60% in abuse cases. Threats have also decreased by approximately 35% while domestic violence cases have decreased by 23%. Unfortunately, there was a victim in a murder case.
It can be seen that the number of burglaries have decreased by 50%, and that the business burglaries are steady at 0. The total number of property crimes has decreased again, but there is a notable increase in theft of motor vehicles.
The decrease of one type of crime is more visible than another. KPCN, together with all chain partners, will pay special attention in the coming year/years to reverse this trend.