St. Maarten Private Eye

Isn't it interesting that two days after I posted this, pointing out the relationship between crime and airlift / tourism, Roy gets quoted as saying the "crisis" is "worrisome" and is asking for help solving it.

Roy, it is all well and good that you are finally paying attention, but what exactly have you been doing the last several years as crime steadily worsened? Those of us who live here have been getting burglarized, held up, or threatened with machettes for years. Didn't you notice? Or is it that you only read the papers to see how many times your name is mentioned?

By the way, have you noticed quite a few people have turned up missing recently? This is not a new problem, Roy. The people in the US and Canada who fill most of our timeshare rooms, our hotels, our restaurants, and our jewelry stores on Front Street knew about these problems before you caught on. Many are already turning to other islands.

Instead of whining, why not get on a plane with a few other ExCo members, several crime victims, and news clipping about all the stabbings, beatings, murders, robberies, burglaries, hate crimes, and so on, and show them to people who can do something? It's wonderful to see yourself quoted in the paper, Roy. We all know you love it. But it takes a lot more than news clips to get police trained and on the street where they can do what we need. It might also help if you give the people who are supposed to be making arrangements for better French-Dutch cross-border cooperation a kick in the head while you're at it.

Taking forever is not an option.