A news story in FloridaToday.com outlines a recent Disney Cruise sexual assault incident while outlining the notion that crime stats aboard cruise ships are not often reported as they should be.
Click here – Eye-opening crime stats article at Florida Today.
Some highlights of the story include:
The problem, some say, is a law that requires only certain crimes and investigations to be reported to the public. People like Kendall Carver, chairman of the International Cruise Victims Association, say that leaves the actual number of crimes aboard ships mostly unknown.
Carver said the largely unmonitored industry — which industry rep Cruise Lines International Association predicted would carry an estimated 17.6 million passengers this year — exhibits a “culture of cover up” in not wanting to report crimes.
The Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act (CVSSA), which was passed by Congress in 2010, established various security requirements and crime reporting procedures for cruise lines after acknowledging that the frequency of crime on board is mostly unknown. It required ship owners to contact the nearest FBI office by telephone as soon as possible after an incident, to be followed up by a written report of the alleged crime that also must be noted in a log book available for inspection by any law enforcement agency.
The actual number of incidents is much higher.
Click here – Eye-opening crime stats article at Florida Today.
Impacted by a Crime on a cruise ship?
Please call the cruise ship attorneys at Waks and Barnett, P.A. for answers to your questions.
1-800-905-2891 for a free consultation.
