A TIME OF CRIME

In the six years from 1989, the Virgin Islands has had:

• 162 HOMICIDES, an average of one every 13 days. Those include all killings, from first-degree murder to involuntary manslaughter, and 37 are still unsolved.
• 501 RAPES reported, an average of one every 4 days.
• 2,864 ROBBERIES, an average of one every 18 hours.
• 4,430 ASSAULTS, an average of one every 11 hours.
• 18,763 BURGLARIES, an average of one every 2 hours.
• 12,583 LARCENIES, an average of one every 4 hours.
• 4,648 CAR THEFTS, an average of one every 11 hours.

VICTIMS BY RACE

Virgin Islands slaying victims in the six years from 1989:

• Black, 68.9%
• Hispanic, 18.1%
• White, 12.8%
• Other, 0.2%

MOTIVES FOR MURDER

Virgin Islands murder motives in the six years from 1989:

• Argument, 34.5%
• Robbery, 14.9%
• Domestic violence, 9.4%
• Drugs, 7.4 %
• Gang violence, 4.7%
• Revenge, 4.7 %
• Eliminating witness, 1.4%
• Other, 23%

WHAT'S VIOLENT CRIME?

Under V.I. law, these are classified as violent crimes: murder, manslaughter, robbery, rape, assault, arson, burglary, larceny and breaking and entering.

BY THE NUMBERS

In the Virgin Islands, crime statistics vary dramatically, depending on which agency is counting. V.I. data kept by federal agencies does not match local data because local figures are done by fiscal year and federal figures by calendar year. Further, the Territorial Court and the District Court keep records in different forms. And nobody can easily access full information on a criminal's previous crimes.