MYTH: NO CRIME IN ARUBA

Low Crime Rate, my Ass! A Safe Island, NOT!

Map of Crime Area and locations of interest

We have heard the Aruban government boast about their "low crime rate" since the kidnapping of Natalee Holloway; however, that statistic CANNOT be trusted. First, the so-called government of Aruba which is the world's first and only run mafia state has not published crime statistics since 1995. So there is no accurate way to know how many and what types of crimes are taking place.

• We know that lying to the police is not a crime.

• We know when there is a reported crime the police take weeks, months and at some point never take the report seriously; such as Natalee Holloway.
  

• We know how the senior police officials belittle victims of sexual assault. If you were a victim of a sexual assault would you turn to the Aruba government for justice?
  

• Drugs are openly sold on the streets of Aruba and there is no noticeable police presence and even if they were there is no concern for the drug dealer.

• Aruba between 2004 and 2005 had a 200% increase in murders.
  

• Between 2004 and 2005 a 100% increase in kidnappings.

Crime in Aruba

Articles and links to crime in Aruba that are practically non-existent. Some of them, mind you, are a few years old, therefore may not apply, but should at least clear up the myth that there is no crime in Aruba.

Caribbean Update—12/1/01

There has been an increase in crime in Aruba, reports the U.S. State Dept. (Nov. 9, 2001), which notes: "Although strolling downtown or in other tourist areas after dark used to be generally safe, Americans should note that there has been a sharp rise in armed robberies. Newspapers report these incidents as being mostly drug related. There have been incidents of theft from hotel rooms. Petty crime and credit card fraud continues to be a problem."

AP Worldstream--3-26-2004

ORANJESTAD, Aruba
Authorities have detained four Dutch marines on drug-smuggling suspicions, sending two back to the Netherlands and keeping two in custody in Aruba while the military investigates, a spokeswoman said Friday. The four suspects, who have not been identified by name, were low-ranking marines serving in a 200-strong military presence at the Savanega base in this Dutch Caribbean territory. They were detained March 17 during raids at their homes in Aruba, and had been suspects during an ongoing investigation.

AP Worldstream--3-08-2004

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands
A majority of the people imprisoned in the Netherlands are foreigners or immigrants, the Central Bureau for Statistics said Monday. At the end of September 2003, 55 percent of the Dutch prison population was born abroad, compared with 50 percent 10 years ago, the government agency said.

The increase could reflect the drive in recent years to crack down on crime, especially drug offenses. The overall number of people in prison rose by 7 percent to around 13,000 from September 2002, the statistics office said. Around 9 percent of prisoners are from Suriname, the former Dutch colony, and an additional 9 percent from the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba, both Dutch possessions in the Caribbean. Moroccans comprise 7 percent and Turks 5 percent.

Of the 1,600 prisoners serving a sentence of longer than four years, 70 percent were convicted of violent crimes and 25 percent of drug offenses. The Netherlands is believed to be one of the world's largest producers of the synthetic party drug Ecstasy, and a gateway for cocaine traffic through Europe.