Ignoring the fact that visitors can and do get bashed in Bahama Village won't make the danger go away. In fact, it seems to us, that pretending that the problem doesn't exist is downright irresponsible.
Last week, two visitors were mugged in Bahama Village on two consecutive days. One was a 42-year-old woman from Ohio who got lost at 1:30 in the morning. She had her nine-year-old son in the car with her. When she saw several young men, she got out of the car to ask directions. Now, most people in this town— and that includes the residents of Bahama Village— would have tried to help the woman.
But not these thugs. They simply viewed her as prey. They punched her in the face, threw her to the ground, went through her pockets and took $250 in cash. Can you imagine her fear at this point, terrified at the prospects of what the men might do to her after they took her money? And what they might do to her young son? Thankfully, they didn't rape her. Instead, while her son watched, they rifled through the contents of her car, stealing several cameras valued at $1000.
What is especially troublesome here is that the actions of the young men seemed practiced, even precise. They reportedly worked as a team. They seemed to know exactly what they were doing— as though they had done it before.
The next day, a 57-year-old college professor visiting from Virginia was assaulted by a teenager on a bike in the vicinity of Thomas and Olivia Streets— in broad daylight! The teen asked for money and the man gave him a dollar. The young man demanded more, and when the visitor refused, the teenager pepper-sprayed him in the face. A second man then approached and tried to spray him again. They took $42 and a video camera.
Why would these two young crooks be cruising around with pepper spray? Only one reason. They were looking for victims. And they had probably been involved in similar assaults before.
The police tell us that they are aggressively investigating these robberies and that they hope that tips from Bahama Village residents may lead to arrests very soon. But we think more should be done. We suggest that the cops put together a series of sting operations, sending undercover cops down into the known danger areas to entice these crooks to make a move. (Where are the "jump-out boys" when you need them?) It is likely that some arrests would be made, but the biggest benefit of such an operation would be to act as a deterrent. If the robbers aren't sure that a potential victim is a cop, they may decide to leave him or her alone.
Another strategy is to involve the community in reporting suspicious activity, as well as actual crimes. Detective Lt. Greg Buck says that's already being done. He said patrolling officers stop and talk with residents, getting to know their concerns and alerting police to potential problems.
The tourist-oriented businesses developing in that area need and deserve this two-pronged support.
In the meantime, shouldn't we be warning our visitors of the dangers of wandering too far down into Bahama Village, especially at night? Or should we just keep quiet and let them find out for themselves— like the visitors from Ohio and Virginia did last week? And after they get bashed, we can show them the crime statistics and try to convince them that what happened to them is "very unusual." That should certainly make them feel better.
We understand that City Commissioner Carmen Turner, who represents Bahama Village, holds the position that tourists should not be warned about the possible dangers of wandering around in Bahama Village. And we understand that the cops have actually been ordered not to urge caution to any tourists asking directions to Bahama Village.
But where the safety of our visitors are concerned, we don't think silence is the answer. We certainly know that a strongarm robbery can happen in virtually any part of town. This is not just a Bahama Village problem. But now that we know that there are young thugs down there just waiting for unsuspecting tourists to wander onto their turf, don't we have a responsibility to warn them? Would either of the visitors bashed last week have wandered into those situations had they been warned?
It's not an easy problem, but it has to be addressed. Tell us what you think.