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Hi First time to Belize, single traveler and wondering how safe it is on Ambergris Caye?
Will be staying on the island from may to november smile
Completely safe if you refrain from naked fire dancing.
:-)
I would avoid walking the beach or around town late at night alone or carting around a big purse with all of your valuables (I usually carry cash in a pocket verses a purse, just in case and just have a photocopy of my passport on my person).

Petty / opportunistic crime is everywhere these days and it can be very disheartening. Best to avoid tempting anyone and you can relax and enjoy your wonderful trip smile

yes, but clothed fire dancing like i do is ok smile
I have a girlfriend that I live with, so you its a bit safer for single women on the island now.

smile
You over estimate your self
Originally Posted by Ernie B
You over estimate your self


my girlfriend told me the same thing. before she was my girlfriend smile.

suckers.
As a resident of a lovely neighborhood on Ambergris Caye, I disagree with the claim that petty crime is everywhere.
Come on up to the "middle island" area, which is well north of the "north" island area (inside joke). All is well up here and we have some awesome restaurants!

Thanks for all your posts!! Trying to cut down on nekked fire dancing lol
But hey everyone needs some kind of island activity smile

Cheers n Smiles
Lisa
Originally Posted by Diane Campbell
Completely safe if you refrain from naked fire dancing.
:-)


I doubt if the family of the Spanish flight attendant would agree about it being "completely safe".
I do not think the incident of the Spanish flight attendant in any way reflects on the safety of San Pedro. The odds are very good that this was done by some itinerate foreigner and could have happened any where.
The biggest danger for single foreign women is making friends in the wrong crowds. Many see white girls as some kind of meal ticket and play them pretty heavily. Its like playing the lottery, one of them must be rich so you try to play them all. Besides that use common sense and you will be just fine as Diane has said.
Exactly Mike. If I was a woman I'd feel safer on San Pedro at night than downtown LA, Memphis, Miami, Detroit or Chicago to name a few. Use normal precautions and you'll be fine.
It upsets me when people try to justify the crime, or lack of it, on AC by comparing it to some of the worse cities for crime. At one time AC could have been used to compare a place with practically zero crime. That is not the case now. And trying to justify the level of crime by saying it is worse in other places only prevents a realistic appraisal and that level of complacency does not lead to correcting the problem.
I am not so nieve to think that AC will ever be as safe and crime free as it was 42 years ago when I first visited here, but I hate to see people accept and try to justify the crime level now by saying it is worse elsewhere.
The level of crime on this island compared to what it should be is a major problem. Just look at the number of posts on this message board telling of crimes. Just read the newspaper reports of crimes. For me it is at an unacceptable level and I am not willing to accept it because it is worse in other places. I am not so sure that if crimes here were measured on a per capita basis that many places could say they were safer than AC.
I think that the reference to other cities might be more helpful than defensive - most of us are not afraid to be in LA because we know how to act in LA. Taking that level of common sense into account ...... that you are responsible for most of what happens to you, and that if you pay attention to your surroundings you will be FINE - that is a very level-headed reason to compare SP to another place that people are familiar with.
Yes, well it is a shame in my mind that one needs to take the same precautions in San Pedro as they do in South Central LA, Detroit or the south side of Chicago.
Originally Posted by Mike Campbell
I do not think the incident of the Spanish flight attendant in any way reflects on the safety of San Pedro. The odds are very good that this was done by some itinerate foreigner and could have happened any where.
The biggest danger for single foreign women is making friends in the wrong crowds. Many see white girls as some kind of meal ticket and play them pretty heavily. Its like playing the lottery, one of them must be rich so you try to play them all. Besides that use common sense and you will be just fine as Diane has said.


My inside source informed me that the unfortunate demise was a Hit from out of the country. She was not the real intended victim, but the example and threat to the intended.
Bywarren -
Disagreeing with somebody is one thing, but misrepresenting their point of view only to bolster your own opinions is neither nice nor necessary.

Good grief frown
I am always amazed at the tourists who come here and leave their common sense at home. Sure most everyone here is very nice but for two gringa ladies to get into a boat with guys they have never met before is stupid. I know this just happened and they spent the night with them then went looking for them the next day. They were openly seeking drugs and not using any common sense about who they talked to.

Victims often act like victims way before the crime is committed.
Leaving anything that looks like it has a value unattended is asking for trouble. Leaving windows or door open when gone - if only for a little while - is dumb.
Talking loudly in a bar about how well off you are is an invitation to be watched.

BE SMART - BE SAFE.
Robbery and burglary is down here on the island in the last year. Way down and this year to date is well below last year. Overall the efforts being made are working but there is much work left to do. The blame should be passed around to people other than the police. Developers, businesses and retail businesses that do not contribute in a meaningful way to help reduce crime are just as much to blame as the criminals.

Well said scubaldy. We cannot protect people that refuse to use common sense and look for drugs and take tours with illegal operators and invite strangers into their hotel rooms or condos, etc.

42 years ago the population on this island was about 500 now it is 20,000. Thinking there is any correlation between now and then is just as silly as comparing this place to Miami.

If you are not doing anything to prevent crime (installing cameras, contributing to your local neighborhood watch, being vigilant, calling the police when you see something wrong, looking out for your neighbor and of course helping you fellow islanders)then you are part of the problem!
Unless your "inside info" called the hit I would surely doubt it. Hits are clean and fast and do not ever involve rage and anger and the chance of leaving DNA. Even if that were to be true it does not reflect on San Pedro as it had nothing to do with us.
San Pedro is not as safe as it once was. Robbery and burglaries have increased even though the reports may have decreased. Violent crimes against a tourist are very rare, to the point that they make big news. Violent crimes amongst locals has increased some but San Pedro has always had lots of fights at night over girls/boys and such after everyone is very well drunk. As the economy contracts petty thievery, robbery and burglary increase.
Fortunately crimes against children are being reported more.
Because of the public lack of confidence in the police reported crime does not necessarily coincide with actual crime. The only meaningful statistic that we can get from the police is the conviction rate. For murder it is around 7%. They dont give the stats on other types of crime but I can imagine. This is a direct reflection of their level of training along with systemic problems.
If you KNOW the police will not be effective why would you bother to subject yourself to the often rude treatment you receive at the police station to report a crime. The recent discussion on the attempted theft of the golf cart and how it was handled is an example. Our decline in reported crime in San Pedro is more likely related to confidence in our police rather than the crime rate but does not make this an unsafe place for visitors by any definition, it remains, in my opinion, one of the safest places in the world.
It did come from a trusted insider. As a hit.
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