Compare that to Los Angeles, which has 10.4 murders per 100,000 citizens, or New York City, which has only 8.6 homicides. Since 1996, the murder rate throughout the United States has dropped about 12 percent, but in the Virgin Islands the murder rate has risen an incredible 30 percent. Nationwide, the clearance rate for homicides stands at 69 percent. The problem is gang and drug related. The local police say they know who the killers are, but no one will testify against them for fear of reprisal.
Gangs are violent, and the islands are small.
The solution to this problem is to call in federal authorities to assist in the murder investigations and provide security for witnesses. But St. Thomas Police Commissioner Franz Christian will not do that, and Gov. Charles Turnbull, a Democrat, has not ordered him to do so. The result is a huge blot on the reputation of these idyllic islands. Tourists don't know AP Cruise ships line the dock in Charlotte Amalie harbor on St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. So far the carnage has been kept secret from the more than 10,000 cruise ship passengers and hotel guests who flock to the U.S. Virgin Islands daily.