your blog post is now mine

Is this blog post mine? No, i took it from Matt, my friend here on island. It was on his blog, but i liked it so now its on mine.


i think i may live in a different world than you do.

i grew up learning and accepting things like "what's mine is mine and what's yours is yours." things like "stealing is bad." things like punishment for a crime to prevent and deter.

now i live in a place where crime is simply accepted. if you need something that someone else has, you simply steal it. and what's worse is that i've come to accept it: dinghy got stolen? - well, it was left locked to a cleat with 10 feet of 2 inch chain & industrial lock in broad daylight so i guess it was an invitation to steal and looked like an easy 15 minute project.

one time we had the 4 tires stolen off our boat trailer which sat in a paid lot, or "boat trailer yard." driving by one day i decided to check in on it and found that someone had put it up on blocks and taken the tires (among other things). it took me about 10 more minutes to figure out which trailer they were now sitting on - and on top of the trailer was a huge "go-fast" boat. stupidly we called the police to report the incident & upon explaining and showing the officer where our tires now sat he drew a deep breath and said "well.....if i were you i would have gone about this in a different way. you know who's boat that is on top that trailer? i didn't say it, but if i were you i'd find yourself some other tires." so there is was, the tires were no longer ours. case closed.

solving crimes like the above take an immense amount of work. i mean do you realize how much time is involved for an officer to walk 50 feet from where the dinghy was stolen into the National Park Center and ask to view the cameras focused on where it was stolen? do you realize how impossible it would be for investigate and solve the stolen trailer tires? oh wait, we solved it for them!

there's what i like to call a "mine" mentality down here. see something you like that's not yours? now it's....MINE! oh boy, that looks nice...."that's mine now!"

and so this brings me to a recent crime which illustrates the "mine" factor perfectly and how little there is to worry about getting caught or punished for stealing:

Motorbike stolen from Road Town Police Station

Police continue to seek answers to a brazen heist that took place inside Road Town Police Station last week. Early in the morning on July 19, three men entered the station and stole a confiscated 650cc Suzuki motorbike. According to the police, the men, whose faces were covered with T-shirts, exited through the back of the building. There is no evidence that they were armed.

Last Wednesday, Police Commissioner Reynell Frazer launched an internal investigation and a full-scale criminal investigation into the “suspicious circumstances surrounding the incident,” including how the motorbike was removed when personnel were on site and task force officers were moving through the building periodically.

Police continue to review footage from surveillance cameras, which captured the three men as they removed the motorbike from the premises.

“As commissioner of police, I want to ensure the public that this incident will not detract from the Force’s continued and ever-focused commitment to maintain law and order in the territory,” Mr. Frazer said.

PWA to meet

Meanwhile, Chief Inspector Vere Brown, head of the Police Welfare Association, said the association’s executive board would meet shortly to formulate an agenda and convene an emergency meeting. The group has concerns about the safety, vulnerabilities and other breaches of security at all police stations in the territory, he said.

“The PWA has a statutory duty to bring issues that will affect the welfare and efficiency of police officers to the attention of the governor,” Mr. Brown said.

At a House of Assembly Meeting on Friday, Premier Ralph O’Neal maintained his commitment to the force — but stopped short of speaking in depth about the RTPS incident.

“My government’s commitment is to seek to protect the territory and its people, and to protect and preserve their interests and their safety and security,” Mr. O’Neal said. “We must work to keep our society free of crime and violence and ensure that it is one in which the rule of law is preserved and promoted.”

As of Beacon deadline, no arrests had been reported.

let me sum this up: 3 men walked into a police station and stole a motorcycle. now, i'm no detective, but i'm thinking that there are a few items that concern me or that i'd look into immediately. 1) people have no fear of stealing from the police, and inside the police station. "that's mine" taken to the extreme. 2) these thieves just may have experience or a history/knowledge of the station i.e. they've been locked up before? 3) perhaps this motorcycle was stolen by the actual owner of the bike that wanted it back? may be a good idea to check the registration on that bike. 4) surveillance cameras and officers on duty bring us no leads as to who this may have been, huh. but then again 3 men out of uniform with faces covered with t-shirts walking a motorcycle out of the station is nothing that would draw any attention anyway. 5) we have trouble preventing crime on the streets and now we can't prevent or solve crimes of people stealing from us, the police. is there something wrong with that? 6) and finally, did all three then jump on the bike and take off?

if i were the police commissioner i'd certainly be embarrassed about this incident, but i certainly wouldn't throw out lines like "i want to ensure the public that this incident will not detract from the Force's continued and ever-focused commitment to maintain law and order in the territory." you've just been made the fool commissioner, how does the public have any faith in you or that statement?