How sad. The beautiful anticipation of our June trip is quickly becoming frighteningly tarnished.

chrisn:
Yes, this does raise concern for the people who reside on St. John, but as a tourist who is visiting in June, what is there to worry about? Most likely, these crimes were incidents where the shooter knew their attacker. These weren't tourists, are you involved in the crime underworld on the islands in any way shape or form? No you're not, so I wouldn't worry if I were you. Just enjoy the island. St. John isn't plagued with these type of incidents, the island does still maintain a level of peacefulness and tranquility.

DL: My sentiments exactly, seconded.

Not to pile it on, but here's another incident from last weekend:

http://www.stjohntradewindsnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=344&Itemid=38

STJ is still a safe place (safer than where i live. Safer than many other places in the Caribbean). But it's definitely changing. There's been a huge increase in major crime and violent crime in the past few years. I recall a while back when there was an armed robbery at Skinnylegs that was talked about for years. Now there's a new serious crime at least every month. STJ is changing and the changes aren't for the better.

I appreciate your sentiments. If the locals don't think there is anything to be concerned about for tourists then I guess I will try and put it to the back of my mind. I think the main thing is that we travel with our two kids and I'd like to think that I'm making the best decisions for them. It's so much easier when it's just you to worry about. Another thing is yes of course there is crime where I live but part of the ideal vacation is the escapism. Going to a beautiful, wonderful place and just escaping to a perfect spot because even though it's not, it's nice to think otherwise for a spell. I am still going and I'm planning on having a grand time. Hearing these negative stories do tend to put a damper on the happiness of trip planning. I'll make sure and keep the darklings out of my thoughts. I do hope for a speedy resolution both for the people of the VI's and the others that enjoy them from time to time.

One thing you really have to bear in mind is that our local media often thrives on drama and negativity but rather than dwelling on that, let me add a little story to this thread.

Many years ago my husband at the time was recruited from England by the United States in what was then called, "the brain drain." He finally accepted a job offer in Connecticut and while all the paperwork was being processed, the company which hired him sent us the local newspapers (the Hartford Courant and the New Haven Register) so we could gain an understanding of what life would be like in our new environment.

I was totally horrorstruck when I read a one-inch bitty article on something like Page 47 which reported that a policeman in some part of the United States had been shot dead.

A police killing anywhere in England at that time would have been headline news for weeks and that's no exaggeration.

See the correlation?

You'll have a wonderful vacation, really!

I'm so glad to see people responding rationally on this board. On the "other" board I posted that I thought people were being alarmist, and I was accused of being a villa owner!

Nobody is suggesting that STJ is a dangerous place where you need armed bodyguards to visit the beach. Only that you need to pay a bit more attention to your surroundings. If you stay at the Holiday Inn in Des Moines, do you leave your room door unlocked? Do you wear your nice pearls on a dark street in any city at night?

What’s sad is that STJ was always an oasis from all that stuff. It simply wasn’t like everyplace else. One year we went to St. Croix instead and found a dark undercurrent there that made us uncomfortable. We have not returned. I would just hate to see STJ go down that path. Especially if the local police are as nonchalant or under-equipped as some of the reports would suggest.

"Dark undercurrent?" Please explain.

Linda J

Well, I’m reluctant because I don’t want appear to disparage an entire island and its people, and I recognize that most visitors seem to have a fine time. In our case, it was more uncomfortable than overtly threatening. Suspicious looks. People following a little too close on the sidewalk. A feeling that we were being “sized up.” We assumed these people to be locals but I have no way of knowing. My wife works in NYC, by the way, and has a pretty hard shell about such things.

Then one night during our second week, a group of 4 followed us in their car for several minutes and tried to run us off the road at one point. They weren’t very good at it and we managed to get back to our rental safely. But we hardly left the property after that.

Too bad for you. I just spent a month in St. croix and had a glorious time. You guys live in NY and you let a few what YOU considered suspicious people scare you? Please!!

I'm delighted you had a wonderful visit. As stated in my post, most people do. I don't pretend to have conducted a comprehensive survey. Forums are mostly about personal experiences and that was ours. I don't know you and won't presume to make assumptions about you. Please afford us the same respect.