Crime is a major problem in United States Virgin Islands (USVI). One cannot turn on the television or radio without hearing about another crime that was committed. Crime has increased tremendously over the last few years and something must be done to combat it. But first one must determine where crime stems from. According to Burton’s Legal Thesaurus (2007), “Crime is a violation of a law in which there is injury to the public or a member of the public and a term in jail or prison, and/ or a fine as possible penalties.” This means that even if an individual does something wrong it is not a crime according to the law. But if that same person does something right and is deemed wrong by the law, it is a crime. Therefore, crime is not a
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Many people think that crimes are committed because of poverty, low self-esteem, and drug abuse. Some people think that people also commit crimes because they are born “evil.” For one to understand why persons commit crimes, one must get to the root of the problem. According to Education Scotland (n. d.), individuals commit crimes because of social exclusion. Social exclusion occurs when a person or a place is suffering from a series of issues (Educational Scotland, n. d.). These issues include unemployment, low incomes, poor housing, and family instability. Persons suffering from social exclusion will turn to crime to cope with the stressors of everyday …show more content…
Many persons are afraid to leave their homes because of the fear of them getting robbed or killed while walking down the road or even in the safety of their own homes. Not only will the persons living in the community be afraid to leave their homes but tourists would also be afraid to visit our islands. Many reports have been written on the impact of crime on the tourist industry in the Virgin Islands. The USVI has one of the highest per capita murder rates in the world. The territory has an astounding homicide rate at approximately 35.5 per 100,000 people. Whereas, the United States has a rate at about 4.7 per 100,000 people (Cruise Law News, 2014). There was an incident pertaining a young lady that was murdered while on a cruise ship stop visiting St. Thomas (Cruise Laws News, 2014). This resulted in the cruise line warning tourists about the dangers of the USVI before visiting. As of 2016, there were forty-seven homicides; twenty-two so far on St. Croix, six of which were vehicular while sixteen were from gun violence (VI consortium, 2016). The remaining 25 homicides were from the St. Thomas-St. John district where only one was vehicular, while the remaining 24 were gun and stabbing-related incidents. (VI, Consortium, 2016). However, there has been many strides to prevent
Many people think that crimes are committed because of poverty, low self-esteem, and drug abuse. Some people think that people also commit crimes because they are born “evil.” For one to understand why persons commit crimes, one must get to the root of the problem. According to Education Scotland (n. d.), individuals commit crimes because of social exclusion. Social exclusion occurs when a person or a place is suffering from a series of issues (Educational Scotland, n. d.). These issues include unemployment, low incomes, poor housing, and family instability. Persons suffering from social exclusion will turn to crime to cope with the stressors of everyday …show more content…
Many persons are afraid to leave their homes because of the fear of them getting robbed or killed while walking down the road or even in the safety of their own homes. Not only will the persons living in the community be afraid to leave their homes but tourists would also be afraid to visit our islands. Many reports have been written on the impact of crime on the tourist industry in the Virgin Islands. The USVI has one of the highest per capita murder rates in the world. The territory has an astounding homicide rate at approximately 35.5 per 100,000 people. Whereas, the United States has a rate at about 4.7 per 100,000 people (Cruise Law News, 2014). There was an incident pertaining a young lady that was murdered while on a cruise ship stop visiting St. Thomas (Cruise Laws News, 2014). This resulted in the cruise line warning tourists about the dangers of the USVI before visiting. As of 2016, there were forty-seven homicides; twenty-two so far on St. Croix, six of which were vehicular while sixteen were from gun violence (VI consortium, 2016). The remaining 25 homicides were from the St. Thomas-St. John district where only one was vehicular, while the remaining 24 were gun and stabbing-related incidents. (VI, Consortium, 2016). However, there has been many strides to prevent