Crime

I was thinking of going to Le Galion Beach and read this review. Scary! Now I'm wondering if this should be a "stay on the ship" day.

“Got robbed at gunpoint by 3 French Speaking Black teenagers in St Maarten-St Martin”

Reviewed September 2, 2014 NEW

We turned off the main road and headed toward Le Galion Beach. We reached the ocean and got out to take pictures. When we started to get back into the car we got jumped by 3 French Speaking Black teenagers and one was armed with a pistol. They took all of our stuff. In broad daylight!

We drove to the police station and they took my report. It seemed like they knew a lot about this issue and told me there were 5 robberies in the last month or so. They showed me 23 pictures of teenage Black males who they stated are "known" for this sort of robbery. I pointed out one of the males and I saw on the computer this particular individual had a long history with the police. The police told me that since the robbers are so young there is little there is little the justice system can do. While I was sitting in the police station I saw what looked like a Swat team ready to go out to do some raids. One of them was armed with a tube-style launcher.

While we drove back to the hotel, we noticed packs of Black teenagers all over the place on the French side congregating. Not very comforting.

I did a search on the internet and found several similar robberies. One robbery ended in the death of two individuals while another where an individual was left with only a tank top and pajamas. I found many reviews of similar strong arm robberies.

Although this is a very scenic island with many great things, safety is paramount. I would suggest to anyone not to consider this location for at least 2-3 years after this review. I think the local authorities are trying to play down the problem, it is a big problem.

Whatever you do, do not visit the French side of the island and do not stray out of the resort area at night although it seems incidents are happening on the Dutch side.

Visited September 2014

rlkubi which site did you find that review on? It is very similar to these two postings which are identical to each other but just a little different than the one you posted. These two were posted in TripAdvisor and Fodors and it looks like the person is just using a different handle on each site.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g1606589-i15357-k7774566-I_got_robbed_in_St_Maarten_St_Martin-Saint_Martin_St_Maarten_St_Martin.html

http://www.fodors.com/community/caribbean-islands/i-got-robbed-in-st-maarten-st-martin-on-the-french-side.cfm

I am going to Philipsburg for a day in November on RCCL with my Fiance, this will be our honeymoon cruise and we are two women and had planned on just doing our own thing in St. Maarten for the day. I am a cautious person and have actually been spending some time researching more of the ports now that the cruise is just 3 months away.

I always take what I hear with a grain of salt as crime is everywhere and even here in Chicago in my Fiance's neighborhood there have been several shootings on her block and crime in her area has been very low for several years and now it is on the rise again. Makes me sick to my stomach but what can we do? We can't avoid going out of our homes, we still must remain cautious so Yes, I'm a bit concerned about what I have recently seen, However I have not seen a lot of newer reports of serious crime in St. Maarten and many of the stories I have also googled online today seem to be scattered over the past few years, this one post below is from November 2013, so this is pretty recent.

http://smn-news.com/st-maarten-st-martin-news/13705-tourists-robbed-in-grand-case-one-stabbed-multiple-times.html

I was actually looking online today at one of the local newspapers for St. Maarten/St. Martin and have not seen anything very recent that is talking about the robbery you posted info about and the first two I linked here. So I wonder when those incidents happened. It appears this newspaper would post an article about such an incident as it seems like a small local paper there that comments on a lot of the news on the island.

http://www.todaysxm.com/

I would rely on some of the destination experts in the Tripadvisor forums that actually live on the island to see what their take is on the current crime that is happening and see if you can get more detailed info from them. There are usually several that are expats that live on the islands and they are pretty honest with the goings on in the towns they are living in. I have used their advice and info heavily when I travel to Mexico and they have always been very honest and helpful.

I'm also going to research this a bit more, as I do want to have an enjoyable cruise in November but again I want to be cautious as we don't have any set plans now to do any of the larger ship excursions and wanted to just do our own thing in each of the 5 ports, St. Maarten being one of them

Hello, I was the one who posted the messages you found. On September 2nd on Le Galion Beach I was robbed by 3 young Black teenagers. One was armed with a revolver. They stuck the revolver to my face while my companion went running away screaming. It ruined my entire vacation and I spent a lot of time at the police station over there. Keep in mind this took place in broad daylight on the beach at 4pm with other tourists around. I was in complete and utter shock.

If you need more clarification, send me a private message. I would be happy to talk more about my experiences. All I can say is to be very careful at this destination otherwise you will be sorry.

I have been posting my experiences all over the internet so others dont learn the hard way like I did. Consider the following links. Quite obviously, violent crime in St Martin is a huge problem.

All of these incidents happened in 2014:

Victim shot during armed robbery Tuesday afternoon in Cole Bay

http://www.sxmislandtime.com/front-page-headliners/28901-victim-shot-during-armed-robbery.html

A Chinese family was robbed at gunpoint in front of their home in Ebenezer Estate.

http://www.smn-news.com/st-maarten-st-martin-news/14341-armed-robbery-in-ebenezer.html

Armed Robbery Front Jewelry Store St Maarten 11-7-14

Daring armed robbery on Front Street

http://www.todaysxm.com/2014/05/26/daring-armed-robbery-on-front-street/

First Caribbean Bank St Maarten Mid-Morning Robbery

Armed robbery on Chinese restaurant

http://ilandvibezsxm.wordpress.com/2013/04/09/armed-robbery-on-chinese-restaurant/

Sint Maarten. Armed robbery in Mullet Bay...

http://www.sxminfo.fr/67163/2013/10/21/sint-maarten-armed-robbery-in-mullet-bay/

Scotia Bank robbery

http://www.smn-news.com/video-news/15687-kpsm-investigating-scotia-bank-robbery.html

Local police have admitted that there have been regular robberies over the last 12 months both from boats anchored in the bay and berthed alongside.

http://www.noonsite.com/Countries/SintMaarten/st-martin-simpson-bay-lagoon-warning-about-robberies

Tourists stabbed in Grand Case

http://smn-news.com/st-maarten-st-martin-news/13705-tourists-robbed-in-grand-case-one-stabbed-multiple-times.html

Two attempted armed robberies reported

http://www.sxmislandtime.com/component/k2/30009-two-attempted-armed-robberies-reported.html

Man stabbed in broad daylight in the city

http://www.todaysxm.com/2014/09/06/man-brutally-stabbed-in-philipsburg/

Another man stabbed in broad daylight

http://smn-news.com/st-maarten-st-martin-news/16611-man-stabbed-by-gebe-friday-afternoon.html

Body found in trunk

http://smn-news.com/st-maarten-st-martin-news/16563-body-of-sonesta-great-bay-employee-found-dead-in-car-trunk.html

Man shot dead

http://www.todaysxm.com/2014/08/19/man-shot-dead-sunday-morning/

Caribbean, St. Martin: Multiple crimes against cruisers - Jan/Feb 2014

http://www.noonsite.com/Countries/StMartin/Countries/StMartin/caribbean-st-martin-multiple-crimes-against-cruisers-jan-feb-2014/

Canadian hip hop artist left with only pajamas after robbery

http://ilandvibez.com/canadian-hip-hop-artist-robbed-in-st-maarten-at-mullet-bay/

Index of different crimes against yachts and boats

http://www.safetyandsecuritynet.com/the-leeward-islands-anguilla-st-martin-sint-maarten-st-bart-antigua-barbuda-st-eustatius-saba-st-kitts-nevis-montserrat-guadeloupe-dominica/

We take several cruises a year and each itinerary has a stop in St. Maarten. We have been very fortunate that nothing has ever happened to us on any of the Caribbean island. It is always good to be reminded that crime does occur in the Caribbean and you should never let your guard down, which some of us do when we are on vacation.

Thank you for the update.

There are ways to reduce your exposure like:

1) Travel in groups of six or more. Go on the organized pay-for guided tours instead of exploring on your own. Usually the muggers operate in groups of 3 therefore you want to outnumber them by at least 2 to 1.

2) Do not wonder out of areas which lack tourists like yourself. If the area doesnt have a crowd of tourists dont go there.

3) Dont bring anything with you except under $100 in cash, a pocket camera, copies of your Passport (not the actual Passport) and 1 credit card. Leave the handbags, backpacks, expensive sunglasses and anything else with worth back locked in the room safe.

4) Digital cameras. Only bring a camera body which goes for under $1000. Nothing more than that. Pocket camera preferable.

5) No backpacks, handbags or shoulder bags. No bags at all.

6) Money belt or similar to store your things. Nothing in outside pockets.

7) Carry a cheap wallet containing 50 dollars, an expired credit card and copies of your Passport. In the event of an actual mugging, you give them that wallet. Its basically a peace offering.

8) Look up the exact areas which are having issues. Like in St Martin it seems to be mainly on the French side. Avoid those areas.

9) Look out for the locals who are gathering or hiding behind something. If you see someone looking out from behind something than RUN in the opposite direction.

10) Practice scenarios with your companion. When one sees something dangerous or someone suspicious than one of you will yell "RUN" and than run with each other out of the area.

11) You and your companion should be wearing purpose built running shoes while traveling anywhere internationally. No sandals, no shoes, etc. Your footwear should be made for running so you can escape more easily at a faster pace.

Just be alert and aware....

This is quite worrying we was going to walk into town from cruise port think we may change our plans is maho beach area safe

There are ways to reduce your exposure like:

 

1) Travel in groups of six or more. Go on the organized pay-for guided tours instead of exploring on your own. Usually the muggers operate in groups of 3 therefore you want to outnumber them by at least 2 to 1.

 

2) Do not wonder out of areas which lack tourists like yourself. If the area doesnt have a crowd of tourists dont go there.

 

3) Dont bring anything with you except under $100 in cash, a pocket camera, copies of your Passport (not the actual Passport) and 1 credit card. Leave the handbags, backpacks, expensive sunglasses and anything else with worth back locked in the room safe.

 

4) Digital cameras. Only bring a camera body which goes for under $1000. Nothing more than that. Pocket camera preferable.

 

5) No backpacks, handbags or shoulder bags. No bags at all.

 

6) Money belt or similar to store your things. Nothing in outside pockets.

 

7) Carry a cheap wallet containing 50 dollars, an expired credit card and copies of your Passport. In the event of an actual mugging, you give them that wallet. Its basically a peace offering.

 

8) Look up the exact areas which are having issues. Like in St Martin it seems to be mainly on the French side. Avoid those areas.

 

9) Look out for the locals who are gathering or hiding behind something. If you see someone looking out from behind something than RUN in the opposite direction.

 

10) Practice scenarios with your companion. When one sees something dangerous or someone suspicious than one of you will yell "RUN" and than run with each other out of the area.

 

11) You and your companion should be wearing purpose built running shoes while traveling anywhere internationally. No sandals, no shoes, etc. Your footwear should be made for running so you can escape more easily at a faster pace.

 

Just be alert and aware....

I appreciate your information because I would rather be prepared than have a tragedy. Are the public buses safe? And thank you for your input. So sorry to hear what happened and I am so glad you shared.

If I had read all those news articles (posted the links) before I made the reservations than I would simply have gone to Aruba or Cancun. I did visit Saint Martin before and I felt absolutely safe. However, we had stayed mostly on the Simpson Bay Resort property where there is 24 hour security. There are guards, cameras and lights all over the property. Its like fortress. Last time, we rented a small car for one day. This time we rented a big Jeep and were going places where we would not have normally gone without it.

The mistakes we made were the following:

1) We went to the French side. The French side is where most of the criminals live. The French side is also much poorer and obviously so. It lacks the private security force present on the Dutch side. There are probably affluent parts of the French side, but I would not cross into the French side knowing what I know.

2) Renting a Jeep- The only people who drive Jeeps there are tourists. If you rent a vehicle, rent the cheapest looking car they have.

3) Leaving resort property- I found the Simpson Bay Resort to have a lot of activities. Its not a bad place to spend most of your time. However, we wanted to "explore" and go off-roading. That was a big mistake.

4) Leaving tourist areas- The area of the beach where we were mugged lacked a lot of people. STICK WITH THE CROWDS.

5) We had cameras, phones and handbags out. This was a big mistake to be carrying these items in public.

6) We did not know that a parked automobile is a target. The attackers wait behind the automobile and then when you try to get in they attack. Before getting into the automobile, look around, under and everywhere.

In regards to your situation I would NOT "walk into town" unless you do it as a large group and do not carry any valuables. I would not walk anywhere in St Martin as a couple or alone. I would also not travel around any part of the French side. The Simpson Bay area, around the airport, Maho Beach and those other affluent Dutch areas is where you want to stick to. If you trek around the French area, its a lot more risky.

If I were to go to the Caribbean again, I would only go to the safest islands. Read this article:

http://gocaribbean.about.com/od/healthandsafety/a/CaribCrimeStats.htm

My final word of advice is to simply go to Aruba and skip St Martin!

This is quite worrying we was going to walk into town from cruise port think we may change our plans is maho beach area safe

You will be fine walking into town, you will be with lots of other people doing the same thing. Maho beach would be fine also.

I appreciate your information because I would rather be prepared than have a tragedy. Are the public buses safe? And thank you for your input. So sorry to hear what happened and I am so glad you shared.

There has been no articles, no mention on cruise critic about the buses being unsafe, you will also be fine.

There's crime on all the islands, there's crime at home, we can't live in a bubble, life is too short.

"There's crime on all the islands, there's crime at home, we can't live in a bubble, life is too short."

I lived around New York City all my life. I am in New York City each day. However, I have never had a gun put to my face in New York City. On my 2nd day in St Martin I was robbed at gun point.

In regards to "all the islands", some islands are certainly more dangerous than others. In fact, some of the islands have a murder rate which surpasses the United States. Here is a link to the safer islands:

http://gocaribbean.about.com/od/healthandsafety/a/CaribCrimeStats.htm

One has to remember that crooks are more experienced than the tourists. The crooks know the land and venues better. The golden rule is there is safety in numbers. I wouldnt get on the bus or walk into town with just myself or one other person. I would find a few more people on the cruise and just explain "safety in numbers" and form a group.

I am truly sorry for what you experienced.

I will continue to get off the ship, walk into town, go to their beaches, go to Marigot and Maho and enjoy my time in St. Maarten and always be on guard. I will not let fear stop me from living or cruising.

I created all these various threads on the internet because I felt I had a moral obligation. I wanted to do something to warn others and create awareness. You can do what you like with this information to include ignoring it.

My personal preference would be to go to one of the safer islands or not go at all. I will not be back to St Martin in the future with the thought in my head there might be 3 terrorists hiding behind the corner with guns ready to do harm to me.

If you insist on going and walking around the French area I strongly suggest doing it as a group. Follow the crowd. Dont carry anything you cant afford to lose.

I suggest cafrying either a photographers monopod or a cane to use as a self defensive weapon.

I created all these various threads on the internet because I felt I had a moral obligation. I wanted to do something to warn others and create awareness. You can do what you like with this information to include ignoring it.

 

My personal preference would be to go to one of the safer islands or not go at all. I will not be back to St Martin in the future with the thought in my head there might be 3 terrorists hiding behind the corner with guns ready to do harm to me.

 

If you insist on going and walking around the French area I strongly suggest doing it as a group. Follow the crowd. Dont carry anything you cant afford to lose.

 

I suggest cafrying either a photographers monopod or a cane to use as a self defensive weapon.

I am sorry but I have to step in here. You have been giving advice repeatedly that most law enforcement and self defense experts would absolutely wholeheartedly disagree with.

To everyone reading this thread, please do not take the advice regarding trying to defend yourself with a cane or monopod, or the advice about wearing running shoes and having a plan with your partner to run or the advice about screaming.

All of these suggestions are ridiculous and will end up costing someone their life.

You are a crime victim, and I am very sorry for what you were put through, but you are not an expert in security or self defense.

The idea you had about the dummy wallet was very good, so is your advice about moving around in groups and not carrying excessive cash or flashy items, but telling people to make a concerted effort to pre plan a run or the use of force against these young agile teenagers with guns it such terrible advice. And screaming will often get a young gun toting kid to panic......not something you want.

You didn't run and you didn't beat these young verile men with a cane and you were lucky enough to live through your experience. What on God's green earth makes you think you should now be dishing out advice about running away and swinging a weapon at these young men......

I have tried many homicides and robbery cases in my career, and almost across the board I can say that the difference between an armed robbery and a homicide is almost always the reaction of the victim. It is very rare, although it does happen on occaision, that a defendant will just kill for the sake of killing. Usually the struggle starts because someone will not relinquish their belongings, or thinks they are going to fight their way out of it.

If you look around on a cruise ship, very few of your fellow passengers have the strength, agility, speed or training to fight one of these men, and add the gun in and you now have created a far more dangerous situation.

My advice, and I am expert in this field, is to cooperate, don't try anything cute, and try not to stare at your attackers. Give them what they want, as fast as you can and as quietly as you can.

I never said I was an expert in security or self defense. Strangers on message boards should not be considered an expert in anything. I just offer my personal opinion based on my own individual experiences. I also place this thread up to create awareness, discussion and educate people on whats happening. You can either accept or reject the information on this thread. I believe at the very least you should go into these foreign countries armed with knowledge and awareness.

My personal action is to not visit St Martin in the medium term. I probably wont ever go back and opt for places which have a much less crime rate. You can do as you like and how you like.