First quarter crime figures
show drop in delinquency
MARIGOT--Crime figures for the first quarter of 2008 indicate that juvenile delinquency crimes dropped by thirteen per cent in St. Martin and St. Barths compared to the same period in 2007, Préfet Délégué Dominique Lacroix announced at a press briefing Thursday.
However, a spike in domestic and commercial burglaries and resurgence of thefts of cars and motorbikes or scooters were observed in March. The Gendarmerie responded to 47 burglaries from March 3-30 alone, compared to 55 burglaries committed between January 1 and March 2, 2008.
Car thefts appeared also to be on the rise again in March Commandant Baras noted, although the figures are still below those of 2007. He added that a special team of detectives is continuing to investigate this recurring problem.
However, the Gendarmerie has been proactive in finding those responsible for the burglaries and already several persons have been arrested, all of whom were repeat offenders.
Baras said no specific sectors were more susceptible to burglaries than others, and this meant Gendarmerie surveillance patrols needed to be spread out in all areas.
He recommended that residents and commercial businesses continue to maximise their own protection and security by installing burglar alarms, shutters or guard dogs and security personnel on their premises.
Residents could help themselves by making sure all doors are securely locked, not leaving car keys, house keys and wallets lying around in hallways, and sleeping with windows closed or installing shutters or bars. When leaving the house for a prolonged absence, they should always notify a neighbour.
The Préfet noted he would be meeting with the tourism office to review procedures for the after care of crime victims in view of bad publicity recently following an incident that was exposed over the Internet, adding that repairing that damage had been extremely important for the image of the island.
A convention on this subject that pledged to improve after care and provide emergency numbers was signed by the Gendarmerie, St. Martin Tourism Office, and Restaurants Association in December 2007.
Baras outlined a number of incidents to which the Gendarmerie had responded that took place from March 10 to April 24, many of which had already been reported in the press.
With regard to the arrest on the Dutch side of Otto, a.k.a “Blockette,” a national of St. Kitts who is a suspect in the violent Concordia rape case of November 27, Baras confirmed the man was a suspect, but said it was too early to determine if the man, who is also wanted in Anguilla, had committed the crime. He said the Gendarmerie was working closely with the Dutch side on the case.
He also denied reports that the Leta Cordes search team had found a human skeleton on the French side days ago. This turned out to be animal bones, not human.
