Employee Rapes Passenger – Cruise Industry Touts Safer Crime Statistics

Earlier this week, "The Miami Herald" reported the alleged rape and attempted murder of a thirty-one year old U.S. woman aboard the MS Nieuw Amsterdam off the coast of Honduras. The accused, twenty-eight-year-old Ketut Pujayasa, was in the employment of the Holland America Line at the time of the incident. The alleged sexual battery occurred in the victim's stateroom where, Pujayasa is also reported to have attempted to throw her from the balcony. While most violent crimes against passengers do not receive this level of media attention—some are not even reported or investigated by law enforcement—attacks on cruise ship passengers are a far more frequent occurrence than the industry and its supporters would like to acknowledge.

CVSSA Reporting Reduces Reported Crime Statistics

For crimes committed on land, the Federal Bureau of Investigation collects reported crime statistics from every local, state, and federal agency and compiles them into the Uniform Crime Report (UCR). The UCR does not take into consideration whether the case was cleared, is still open, or was deemed unsolvable. The Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act allows the cruise ship industry to report only crimes that have been cleared and closed.

As was reported in an earlier Gross Law Office article entitled Deceptive Reporting Resulting From the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act the CVSSA contains language that only requires the cruise industry to report closed and cleared cases. Consequently, arguments that the crime rate is substantially lower on cruise ships than on land is supported by the positively skewed data.

A February 19, 2014 article in the "Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel" stated:

"Government figures show sexual assaults, and crime in general, are rare aboard cruise ships. According to FBI statistics, from January 2010 through September 2013, there were 156 reports of sexual assaults aboard liners. Of the 64 sexual-assault cases that were closed either by verdict, declined prosecution or expired statute of limitations, 39 were committed by passengers, 22 by crew members and three by 'others.'"

While, factually accurate, the Sun Sentinel article fails to point out that most rapes and other types of sexual assault go unreported. It also does not list the number of open and unsolved rape cases that are reported to investigators, but due to the CVSSA crime statistic reporting rules, not to the FBI.

In fairness to the Sun Sentinel, because of the CVSSA rules, it is difficult to obtain accurate rape and sexual assault statistics for the cruise line industry, but it can be assumed that the "156 reports of sexual assaults aboard liners" substantially understates the reality.

How Safe Are Cruise Ships for Passengers?

Without the full and open reporting of statistical crime data, it is impossible to know the odds of a sexual battery similar to the Pujayasa attack. Any arguments based upon the CVSSA statistical data is clearly erroneous. Cruise line passengers should be encouraged to utilize an elevated sense of caution with regard to their persons, property, and the safety of their children, and not be lured into a false sense of security by CVSSA crime reporting numbers.