Yes, there was a murder in Grenada. Yes, another woman was killed in December. However, that does not mean Grenada or any other Caribbean island has gone to hell in a hand basket in the last while. Well, I wouldn't go to Venezuela or Haiti, but that is another story.

There are the typical "WTH?" posts in the cruiser groups,
wondering if it is safe to cruise the area. It is just as safe to cruise now as it was then. it isn't like a serial murderer is running amok. In both cases, the "person of interest" turned themselves in to the police. Heck, the first one, while technically a murder in Grenadian law, was more of a car accident gone horribly wrong. While that doesn't lessen the pain for the family's loss, it does make a difference to the general public.

Safety is a relative thing. When you choose to travel in a boat, you take precautions. When you travel by car, you may do things to lessen the chance of something happening. When you travel anywhere, general precautions should always be made.

The media has once again gone nuts with this. "Tourist Brutally Murdered in Island Paradise" sells a lot more papers than a more accurate "Island Pissed Off at Murderer for Killing Woman; He Turns Himself In".

The crime and murder rate in Grenada is still extremely low. Please don't let the press make it sound like there is a crime spree going on. I remember when there was a murder in the village where I went to elementary school; because of it, the per capita murder rate suddenly was as high as New York's (a murder in a village of 2,00 is a really big deal).

An friend who lived in South Africa just shrugs it off. Her comment is that the crime rate in SA is far higher, and that is why she is raising her child in Grenada.

i won't shrug it off, that's not appropriate to do that. However, nor will the media feeding frenzy dissuade me from travelling or visiting these islands.

Otherwise, we may as well all live in armed fortresses.