Some info I've found regarding crime on cruise ships

[Maryscooking]

I started to look for this information in response to the "overprotective" thread.

 

Here is information from the RAINN (Rape, Abuse, Incest National Network) website (link):

 

Being on a cruise may create a false sense of community. In reality, the typical ship is akin to a small floating city filled with strangers. Treat it as you would any unfamiliar environment. Parents should not let their children roam the ship unattended. You should keep your cabin door locked; do not open your door to anyone you are not expecting, even a crewmember. Know where your traveling companions are at all times, and have scheduled times to check in.

 

During one six-month period in 2007, the cruise lines reported 41 instances of sexual assault to the FBI

 

• While the cruise industry maintains that the rate of sexual assault at sea is significantly lower than the onshore rate of sexual assault, there is no reliable way to assess whether the cruise lines are fully and accurately reporting all onboard sexual assaults to federal authorities. The industry is already expected to report cruise crime to the authorities, but what is reported to the FBI is not automatically made public. That means it is virtually impossible for passengers (or independent third-parties) to confirm whether each incident of sexual assault, including their own, has been fully and properly recorded.
  
• Sexual assault is one of the least reported violent crimes. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, as many as 60% of onshore sexual assault victims decline to report the crime against them. It is likely that many cruise passengers who experience sexual assault on the cruise also will not report the crime, and therefore such crimes will not become part of industry cruise safety statistics.

[Maryscooking]

Cruise Vessel Safety and Security Act

 

Ok, this next link is definitely one sided, but it does have interesting information (and a link to an extensive list of recent cruise news, both crime related and not):

International Cruise Victimes website

 

If anyone else has good links or information (cited) to add, I'd appreciate it!

[Maryscooking]

One more. This is a good article regarding keeping your family safe while on a cruise. Not much in the way of statistics, but an easy read.

 

Crime doctor article

[cb at sea]

I would imagine many of the "assaults" are to those who are "interacting" with the crew or other passengers while inebriated and acting totally in a totally irresponsible way...

 

While it's true that bad things CAN happen anywhere, if you keep your wits about you, and don't do stupid things, the ODDS of you being a victim are quite low.

[mjkacmom]

I would imagine many of the "assaults" are to those who are "interacting" with the crew or other passengers while inebriated and acting totally in a totally irresponsible way...

 

While it's true that bad things CAN happen anywhere, if you keep your wits about you, and don't do stupid things, the ODDS of you being a victim are quite low.

 

And I assume much the the sexual assault involved young adults and alcohol.

[lidodeckfan]

I would imagine many of the "assaults" are to those who are "interacting" with the crew or other passengers while inebriated and acting totally in a totally irresponsible way...

 

While it's true that bad things CAN happen anywhere, if you keep your wits about you, and don't do stupid things, the ODDS of you being a victim are quite low.

 

And I guess they got what was coming to them because of the way they were dressed also?? DON'T blame the victims. Word of advice to everyone. Don't become complacent because you are on a cruise. Be aware of your surroundings, don't wander off alone late at night & let someone know where & who you will be with.

[Scrapchick]

Much of this is good advice for most situations, but let's not start scaring the pants of people wanting to take a cruise and have them think it's just a crime waiting to happen. It is always smart to be aware of your personal safety and security at all times, but if you took every piece of advice offered in the above snippets quoted you'd never leave your cabin, let alone open your door to your stateroom steward who knocked without prior notice...

 

Vigilance yes, but holidaying in a constant state of fear and paranoia, no. Leaving your house does involve some risk, unfortunately, but agrophobia isn't the answer either. Use your brain, exercise caution and then have a good time without assuming you're about to become a crime victim. There needs to be a balance between awareness and anxiety!

[Mack2]

And I guess they got what was coming to them because of the way they were dressed also?? DON'T blame the victims. Word of advice to everyone. Don't become complacent because you are on a cruise. Be aware of your surroundings, don't wander off alone late at night & let someone know where & who you will be with.

 

I agree with lidodeckfan.

 

Alcohol or not, wrong is still wrong. Sexual assault is still sexual assault. I've disembarked at some ports during low tide where we had to leave from the crew decks, and the crew has rules NOT to fraternize with passengers.

 

Some of the stories on those sites are from former crew members who've been assaulted, too!

 

I'm not saying cruises are dangerous, but vigilance is appropriate. The laws at sea in international waters don't necessarily mirror those on land, and the cruise companies would rather bury most crimes than have to deal with negative publicity.

 

Still... those instances of assault can happen anywhere. If you're at Sandals/Club Med/resort hotel OR on a cruise, bad things can happen.

[kitty9]

While I agree that we should not scare the pants off parents, or any cruiser, the fact remains that there is a segment of the cruise population who either refuses to see or is complacent enough to allow kids to get into what could be dangerous situations. We still get the infrequent poster who wonders if it's OK to leave an infant or toddler alone in a cabin while mom and dad go to the casino or whereever. While on cruises, I see very young kids out alone on a ship, late at night, with no parent in sight. And I have seen teen girls acting like they're 25, trying to attract the attention of crew members. I was on a cruise where a 14 year old, who dressed very sexual, and was drinking alcohol provided by her parents, accused a crew member of sexual assault. Did she deserve it? No, no woman does. But when you act a certain way, under the influence of alcohol, bad things happen. Like someone said, cruises are like cities and there are predators everywhere.

[Maryscooking]

Much of this is good advice for most situations, but let's not start scaring the pants of people wanting to take a cruise and have them think it's just a crime waiting to happen. It is always smart to be aware of your personal safety and security at all times, but if you took every piece of advice offered in the above snippets quoted you'd never leave your cabin, let alone open your door to your stateroom steward who knocked without prior notice...

 

Nothing I posted advised one to stay put in the cabin at all times, or even implied that, so I'm not sure where that is coming from. Seems that the advice regarding when to open the stateroom door bothers you - if this advice was given regarding a land-based hotel would you still find it silly? What other advice given do you find unreasonable? Discussion is welcome :).

 

I'm definitely not out to scare anyone either. In fact, the websites and articles I linked to mostly acknowledge that rates of crime on ship don't seem to be substantially higher than on shore - BUT do say that crimes happen when cruisers let their guard down and do things they would never do on shore.

 

Many parents have questions about is appropriate for their children on the ship and what isn't, and hopefully these articles are helpful to them, or at least are a discussion starting point.

[Scrapchick]

Nothing I posted advised one to stay put in the cabin at all times, or even implied that, so I'm not sure where that is coming from. Seems that the advice regarding when to open the stateroom door bothers you - if this advice was given regarding a land-based hotel would you still find it silly? What other advice given do you find unreasonable? Discussion is welcome :).

 

I'm definitely not out to scare anyone either. In fact, the websites and articles I linked to mostly acknowledge that rates of crime on ship don't seem to be substantially higher than on shore - BUT do say that crimes happen when cruisers let their guard down and do things they would never do on shore.

 

Many parents have questions about is appropriate for their children on the ship and what isn't, and hopefully these articles are helpful to them, or at least are a discussion starting point.

 

And I'm not looking to start a fight, so please let's not go there... The quotes you posted are good advice, but taken out of context somewhat as we don't have the full articles to read. One of the quotes referred to keeping your cabin door locked and not opening it to anyone unexpected, even a crew member.... It's not unreasonable to ask if that includes your steward delivering something you weren't expecting and didn't ask for.... How far does it go before we are suspicious of everyone who smiles at you on a ship?

 

I appreciate the point you're trying to make, but let's not make this personal. My point is simply that there is validity to your posts on this subject, but also that we need to maintain a little perspective and remember that not everyone in the cabin next door or down the hall is a rapist or pedophile. I am not suggesting that is what you are saying. Stranger danger is everywhere and obviously, good parents want to know how to protect their kids.

 

Once again, this is another thread between parents that is about to get overheated, and I am not interested in escalating it any further, so I'll leave you to it, and let others continue.

[drblue]

I would imagine many of the "assaults" are to those who are "interacting" with the crew or other passengers while inebriated and acting totally in a totally irresponsible way...

 

While it's true that bad things CAN happen anywhere, if you keep your wits about you, and don't do stupid things, the ODDS of you being a victim are quite low.

Yes, adults can probably control such emotions. How about young children who are left to wonder all throughout the ship by themselves? The parents are nowhere to be found, and an adult could easily snatch such vulnerable kids. Then, those are the parents whowould probably file a lawsuit agains the cruiseline.

[Maryscooking]

And I'm not looking to start a fight, so please let's not go there... The quotes you posted are good advice, but taken out of context somewhat as we don't have the full articles to read. One of the quotes referred to keeping your cabin door locked and not opening it to anyone unexpected, even a crew member.... It's not unreasonable to ask if that includes your steward delivering something you weren't expecting and didn't ask for.... How far does it go before we are suspicious of everyone who smiles at you on a ship?

 

I appreciate the point you're trying to make, but let's not make this personal. My point is simply that there is validity to your posts on this subject, but also that we need to maintain a little perspective and remember that not everyone in the cabin next door or down the hall is a rapist or pedophile. I am not suggesting that is what you are saying. Stranger danger is everywhere and obviously, good parents want to know how to protect their kids.

 

Once again, this is another thread between parents that is about to get overheated, and I am not interested in escalating it any further, so I'll leave you to it, and let others continue.

 

Definitely not trying to attack you, start a fight, or make it personal! I'm sorry you felt that way. That is why I included the smiley and discussion is welcome comment. I was trying to ask for more of your opinions, not cause you to get upset, so sorry for that. It is hard to convey tone across the internet.

 

Anyhow, for anyone interested in reading more of the context, the RAINN link I provided with the snippets I quoted should take you right to the full text of the article(s).

[junglejane]

I think it's always useful to remind people that they need to take sensible precautions on cruise ships, and I'm definitely not in favor of letting young children wander the ship unsupervised. But the article in the OP's link certainly seems a bit alarmist. The very first sentence reads: "Until you or a family member experiences a sexual assault or rape during your overseas cruise, it is easy to forget that the risk of being assaulted on vacation is real." (Emphasis supplied.) Until? Not "unless"? It makes it sound like a rape or sexual assault is practically inevitable.:eek:

 

I came across the following article which, to my mind, contains a lot of practical, common sense suggestions and reminders to avoid being a crime victim on a cruise ship: http://www.crimedoctor.com/cruise1.htm : Be aware of your luggage, lock up your valuables, realize that your cabin isn't totally secure, don't go into crew areas, avoid obviously intoxicated or overly aggressive passengers, etc. Regarding children, the author makes the following sensible suggestions:

"Your family security plan for children should include bed checks, curfews, restrictions, and special meeting places. Beware of which children they hang out with, just like at home. Your children can be exposed to other children who use drugs or like to get into mischief, just like at home. Try to limit your child to ship sponsored activities in public areas. You should make contact with your children periodically even if they are supervised. Giving them the run of the ship while you spend hours in the casino or show is asking for trouble. Always have a backup plan and identify a ship crewmember as a contact person in case your child fails to show up or you get separated at a port."

 

We have been cruising since our 2 DD's were 4 and 8. By our next cruise they will be 10 and 14. If we let the 10 year old sign herself out, it will only be to meet us, not to wander the ship. We give our 14 year old DD a fair amount of freedom to go places on the ship, but make it a point to keep checking in with each other. And as the article says, it's important to have an idea who your teen is hanging out with. Frankly, I am less worried about a sexual predator dragging her off into a dark corner than I am about a group of teens egging each other on to some mischief.

[Maryscooking]

I came across the following article which, to my mind, contains a lot of practical, common sense suggestions and reminders to avoid being a crime victim on a cruise ship: http://www.crimedoctor.com/cruise1.htm :

 

I agree, lots of good suggestions in that article (in fact, it is one of the ones I linked to above). There definitely has to be a balance between staying safe and having fun while on vacation, because if not, you don't have much of a vacation either way!

[griffy116]

I agree, lots of good suggestions in that article (in fact, it is one of the ones I linked to above). There definitely has to be a balance between staying safe and having fun while on vacation, because if not, you don't have much of a vacation either way!

 

Exactly!!! What has happened to common sense??? I have to agree that there has to be a balance between a fun vacation and safety. I think the numbers reflect a majority of the problems occur when alcohol is involved (and sometimes drugs) and that many occur with teens and young people. I've seen posts where parents object to the curfews for teens, including a few who have told their teens it's okay to break the rules and explanations as to how to help the teens break the rules. We've carried teens on cruises and our next cruise, we have 2 who will be 17. We have no problem with the curfews imposed. A ship is a small town, with people you don't know. Why can't there be safety without paranoia? You can stay safe and still have a fun vacation. We've already told our teens that if they break the rules, we can be asked to leave at the next port and that they don't even want to know the consequences. On our last cruise, we had 3 18 year old guys. One night we found out they had used a room key I gave them to enjoy my balcony to get liquor from my room. They had taken it back to their room to share with a couple of new female friends. Outside the fact that they were underage (on the ship), they had female passengers in their cabin and had no real way to determine if they were 15, 18 or 21. This is the kind of thing that could have gotten reported as a sexual assault whether anything happened or not. We could have been included in these numbers, should those young ladies have gotten in trouble with their parents, not to mention ruining the lives of 3 normally responsible, decent young men. We had no problem going to their cabin and crashing their party to send the young ladies home. The rest of our last night onboard was miserable for everyone. Caution and common sense don't have to be in conflict.