How safe are the u.s. virgin islands?

Question

are they safe enough for a 22 year old girl to wonder around?

Answer 1

NO!

Unless you don't want to see her again.

Answer 2

Depends on who you ask.. I grew up in St Thomas and today I'd have a hard time as a 30 something year old woman walking around there knowing what others have told me about what's going on there now. When I was younger and lived there, I walked around alone all the time, and I was a child.

Things are much different now than when I lived there in the 70-80s. Someone I dated.. after having been away from the island many years, told me that he was stoned (as in people threw stones AT him) twice, just walking down the street minding his own business while he was living there (mid 90s). He hated it. He was white, and he thought it might have been a racially motivated attack.. I'm not sure about that one.

Check this site... maybe it will have links to other sites that have the info you're looking for.

http://www.doi.gov/oia/Islandpages/vipag...

Don't use the tourist website (usvi.net) to find the info, they're not going to tell tourists its dangerous to go down there.

Answer 3

The Virgin Islands Daily News - A Pulitzer Prize Winning Newspaper

January 16th, 2008

        

      SPECIAL REPORT: Crime in Paradise

      Gun crimes, homicides put V.I. among most violent places to live in U.S.

      By JOSEPH TSIDULKO

      ANALYSIS

      Homicides in the Virgin Islands reached a record level in 2007, and gun

      crimes surged, despite a highly touted law enforcement initiative to take

      illegal firearms off the street.

      The territory's homicides rose above the record set just one year earlier,

      armed robberies spiked and shootings skyrocketed, according to statistics

      compiled by The Daily News. The original source for many of those reports

      was the Police Department's blotter, which is the department's unofficial

      record of all crimes reported to police.

      The violence particularly increased in St. Thomas, which surpassed St.

      Croix in most crime statistics for the first time in recent years. Before

      2007, the two islands had roughly the same number of homicides, armed

      robberies and shootings.

      There were indications near the close of 2007, however, that changes in

      police tactics and new task-force operations targeting high crime areas

      were proving successful.

      Those operations, which led to several arrests and the seizure of many

      illegal guns, were spurred by an initiative Gov. John deJongh Jr.

      announced in October to combat gun crime. The initiative focused on

      increasing cooperation between local and federal law enforcement agencies

      and was formalized in a memorandum of understanding between local and

      federal prosecutors.

      In compiling its statistics, The Daily News tallied every published report

      of homicides, armed robberies and serious shootings.



      Homicides and shootings

      Last year, of the 46 homicides in the Virgin Islands, 27 were on St.

      Thomas, 16 were on St. Croix and three were on St. John. One of those

      homicides was the result of a police shooting on St. John that was ruled

      justifiable.

      In 2006, there were 44 total homicides - 23 on St. Thomas and 21 on St.

      Croix - of which four were ruled justifiable, according to Daily News

      homicide statistics.

      The 2007 total means the territory remains one of the most violent places

      under the American flag.

      The Virgin Islands homicide rate per capita is 42 homicides for every

      100,000 residents. The national rate is 5.5 slayings per 100,000

      residents.

Answer 4

It depends where you go...St Thomas has more people= more crime than St John.  I have found that if you are respectful to the locals they are respectful in return.  That being said, we go to St John yearly and have NEVER had a problem with crime.  The problem I have is with men being overly friendly.  This is unusual because I am NO beauty (middle aged and over weight) but its fun while I am there.  I would feel perfectly safe traveling around St John alone during the day and would be a bit more careful at night.  I have not run across anyone who was anything but polite and friendly...even on St Thomas.

Answer 5

i think its fine

Answer 6

You're going to get responses from people intent on creating a negative image of the US Virgin Islands but the fact of the matter is you'd be as safe here as you would in any tourist destination PROVIDED you obey the same rules you do if you travel anywhere else:

1.  Travel with a party.

2.  Stay in well lighted areas

3.  Avoid dark alleys.

4.  Don't hitchhike or accept rides for unlicensed taxis.

5.  Don't flash expensive accessories.

Most of the crime statistics you hear about the US Virgin Islands are fun with numbers.  We get hammered for having a high crime rate because we have a low population.  Durka Durka cited some statistics, but what the statistic doesn't show is that the total population of the US Virgin Islands is roughly 100,000.  However very few tourists and transients are the victims of violent crime. Our law enforcement isn't the greatest in the world but I've traveled enough to know there a places a lot worse off.

Answer 7

i wouldnt say that safe. no-where in the world is safe enough for a 22 year old girl to wonder around. i wouldnt say its safe enough for you to wonder in my neighborhood.......