Dear Source:
Sylvanus Donaire overlooks one of the factors in high pricing in his letter of March 10, 2002, In the e-era, island shoppers do have a choice, and that is the high crime rate. This is a very real factor in the cost of business here.
We are a small business on St. Croix. Three weeks ago we celebrated our seventeenth burglary in three years. We have lost over $10,000 in tools and equipment, thousands of dollars in damage to our buildings and vehicles, thousands more dollars in shoplifting and petty theft. Despite the volume of items going out of here, not a single thing has ever been recovered, nor has a single person been caught or even questioned about it.
Last year, crime alone represented 18 percent of our cost of business.
Gary Briggs
St. Croix
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