Caribbean: CSSN Annual Report Highlights Rise in Violent Crimes Against Yachts
Reported crimes against yachts and cruisers in the Caribbean increased substantially from 2021, with a significant increase in violent crimes, dominated by acts of assault and robbery, according to the Caribbean Safety and Security Net’s (CSSN) annual report for 2022.
Published 1 year ago
The CSSN 2022 Annual Report for 2022 provides details and analysis of reported crimes against yachts in the Caribbean which increased substantially from 2021 to levels similar to those pre-Covid with a significant increase in Violent crimes and reduced levels of Piracy and its companion category, Suspicious Activity.
Locations of incidents 2022
In 2022 there was an overall rise in reported crimes from 102 to 121, a 19% increase. Violent incidents increased significantly from 7 to 12 (+72%) with the increase driven by increases in combined Assault/Robbery from 2 to 9 (+350%) offset by a reduction in combined Piracy/Suspicious Activity from 5 to 3, (- 40%).
Violent activity was concentrated in St. Lucia with overall incidents spread broadly. St. Vincent and the Grenadines returned to its top position (26 reports, 1 violent) with Martinique (17reports,1 violent), Panama (10 reports, 1 violent), St. Lucia (10 reports, 5 violent) Dutch Sint Maarten (8 reports, none violent), and French St. Martin (7 reports, none violent). Crimes against yachts in each of these countries will be described in more detail below.
Total reported incidents by year
The overall increase in reported incidents was not surprising given the return to more typical levels of cruising in general and the spillover effects of hardships exacerbated by Covid, which combined with the continuing general lack of meaningful enforcement/deterrence by officials could not be offset by increased cruiser awareness and preparedness.
Dinghies and outboards remain the primary target for thieves. Cruisers have upgraded elements of dinghy security but lifting overnight and robust locking systems have not become universal. Even as cruisers have upgraded, so have thieves at times arriving well prepared with tools of their own. Video surveillance at dinghy docks remains uncommon.
Theft remains largely a crime of opportunity with too many dinghies left poorly secured with simple padlocks and cable. Even lifted dinghies are within the reach of determined thieves, making lifting and secure locking the best practice. Intrusion alarms have become more affordable and more common and are now utilized on many cruising yachts. Video surveillance/tracking devices have captured some thieves in action, but law enforcement has not demonstrated a willingness to act on this information.
Violent and Non-violent crime 2016-2022
Violent/Serious crimes have continued to ramp up post-Covid. Attempted robbery (St. Lucia, Grenada), Robbery (St. Lucia, Martinique), Assault (St. Lucia-3, Panama, St. Vincent and the Grenadines), and Piracy (Honduras) combine with 2 piracy related Suspicious Activity events offshore (Honduras, Venezuela) for 12 total in 2022. Nonviolent crime also increased 15% from 95 to 109 reported incidents.
Countries where violent crime was reported
The details of each of these events can be found on the Piracy and 2022 annual Zoom-Tap Know and Go maps.
Types of crimes reported
COUNTRY BREAKDOWN
Thefts continue to dominate, and more than 60% of the total 121 reported incidents were concentrated in six countries.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines, (SVG) returns to its top spot with 21% of all reports, Martinique remains at #2 with 14%, Panama, again included in this top group at 8%, St. Lucia returns to the top group at 8% and dominates the violent categories, with island neighbors Dutch (7%) and French (6%) St. Martins rounding out the top group. While no incident reports are presented here, use the popular Zoom-Tap, Know & Go feature on the CSSN website to review the detailed incident reports from these (or any) location easily.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG)
The multi-island nation of St. Vincent and the Grenadines topped the list (26) as it has in past years with incidents (primarily theft) spread throughout its many islands. Bequia accounted for almost half of the reported incidents and included four burglaries (breaking/entering a locked and unoccupied yacht). After multiple incidents officials there reopened the Coast Guard station and began patrols, but no arrests were made. An assault in Buccament Bay, St. Vincent, added a violent incident to the tally.
Martinique
Martinique (17) remains near the top of the group, with an incident of robbery in Fort de France, and includes most of the reported incidents of vandalism, all recorded at the St. Anne dinghy dock.
Panama
Panama (10) returns for a second time to the top group with 10 recorded incidents including an assault in Linton Bay marina. Thefts were reported along the northern coast and in the Bocas del Toro Island group.
St. Lucia
St. Lucia (10) dominated reports regionally for Violent/Serious crimes. Assault and robbery (5) occurred in the area centered near Soufriere. Officials were slow to respond over the course of several months and made no arrests. Patrols were reinstated/increased in the Soufriere Marine management (SMMA) area.
Sint Maarten
Sint Maarten (Dutch) had 8 incidents (none violent), most of them thefts clustered in the lagoon and Simpson Bay.
CSSN and the Cruising Community
CSSN continues to support the cruising community by providing the basic infrastructure for incident reporting and data consolidation and dissemination. The majority of our reports were firsthand, submitted by victims and then vetted/curated/published by our volunteer team.
CSSN Zoom-Tap, Know and Go interactive maps remain a user favorite, and the website features other popular tools (including dedicated interactive Piracy maps and planning advice) for cruisers to utilize as they review risk as part of their cruise planning process.
Subscriptions to the popular (FREE) CSSN ALERTS! continue to grow as do followers on social media. We continue to work with our partners (Noonsite/SSCA/Boatwatch) who themselves continue to enhance their own products while providing complimentary support to our yacht crime reporting mission
First hand reports bring the most complete and best quality information to our community, and continue to dominate our published reports. We all depend on each other to self-report, but there is more to do. It is as simple as see something, say something. Multiple channels of communication exacerbate the problem.
Please, support and help the community by getting the word out in any channel you use, tell two (or more!) friends about CSSN. CSSN volunteers have worked hard to make incident reporting accessible, easy and private. Reporting in all languages supported by Google is fully enabled.
If you are a victim, complete the simple online incident report. If you become aware of an incident, encourage the victims to make a timely and private firsthand report to CSSN, tag us or share a link to our online reporting form. Or make a report yourself (we will work closely with you to get the best available facts). CSSN’s site, information and resources are tools made freely available (and ad free) to our cruising community. We all share the responsibility to use them wisely for our mutual safety and security.
CSSN remains an all-volunteer, independent, self-funded team. We commit considerable amounts of our time, and it only requires a small amount of yours to keep everyone well informed. Please encourage your friends to subscribe to (FREE) ALERTS!, or to follow us on social media, or in the Noforeignland app. Check out the many resources available on our website and make CSSN a permanent part of your risk assessment and cruise planning process.
With your valued input CSSN informs, and captains decide.
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO!
CSSN welcomes feedback and suggestions, simply click the
“CONTACT US” link on any page of the CSSN website.
Safe Cruising,
Kim White and the all-volunteer CSSN team
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Related News
- CSSN Annual Report 2021 Highlights Rise in Crime Against Yachts (Noonsite November 2022)
- CSSN Annual Report 2020 Shows Decrease in Crimes Against Yachts (Noonsite November 2021)
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The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect the view of Noonsite.com or World Cruising Club.
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