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CNN had Lou Dobbs doing an “independent voter convention” this evening. The topic of illegal immigration was much discussed. One commentator was recounting a number of crimes that had been committed by illegals, one where the individual was deported and returned to commit a murder, another instance where a man was arrested, bailed out immediately and committed a murder within 24 hours of the initial arrest. These sound very similar to what is happening in CR. Crime is worldwide, the US isn’t any better than CR, just some of the details are different.
A survey released today as reported by “that English language newspaper” reveals the results of a 2 year survey carried out by a private firm for the government of Costa Rica. One of the things mentioned was that 33.1% of those surveyed considered citizen insecurity the country’s number one problem. I’d be very surprised at a statistic like that for the US.
Jon
All the gringos that I have met has experienced crime. The last couple we met got conned by fellow expats. Its sad, but considering that there are about 40000 US/Europeans living here, we do seem to get a significant percentage of the crime. Are we targets, of course, but there are steps you can take to lower your odds of being robbed.
In relation to Sprites comment about Americans being notoriously fearful (true after
8 years of the politics of fear”), it’s ironic that our national motto is home of
the brave, land of the free. We are no longer brave or free… The Republicans have
“crash and burned” the United States, and have the audacity to claim that they
are agents of change, my guess is that Americans will be living in
Mcmerica soon. Sure glad we have a house in Costa Rica.Most of you people need to take you head out of the sand. Crime is on the rise and running unchecked by the police. I have nieghbors that have been recently murdered, others bound, gagged and raped and many friends in nieghboring towns that are broke into on a regular basis, they are afraid to even leave at night for fear of being broke into. This is happening in “good” areas.
Pura Vita
Johnwhich ‘good’ areas are you talking about? i’ve been living in cr for more than 3 years and i don’t know anyone who’s been mugged or murdered or had their house cleaned out.
Maravilla, it sounds like you have found heaven on earth, kind of like I thought in the begining. You found your “good” area and thats all that counts, right…I am sure there are many more safe areas than not in C.R., I wish you the best of luck!
you didn’t answer my question. WHERE are all these crimes happening to your friends? it doesn’t mean that where i live won’t ever have crime, i just don’t know anyone who’s been that kind of a victim. friends of friends have had their cars broken into and everything stolen, but then those people left their laptops, briefcases, money, etc in the car, in town, in plain view. i see those crimes as very different than burglaries of a home or gunpoint robberies.
To the potential detriment of others in the general proximity, the location is best left unsaid. I should also clarify that the neighbor murdered was in a hot land dispute with, another individual and it was settled with a machete.(no arrests were ever made). So this was NOT a random act of street violence, and I suppose falls in the category of screw with the bull and you get the horns, and is something that you CAN avoid happening to you.
Most of the time, not all, but MOST of the time folks bring these things on themselves. Here in the U.S. in “good” neighborhoods folks get shot and killed on a regular basis. But when you look closely they were almost always involved with the wrong people (gang members, drug dealers, prostitutes) and or did things that put themselves at risk (doing drugs, drunk, constant battles with “friends”, neighbors and relatives). Most murders are committed by people that that the victim knew.
We all know people who’s lives are soap operas. In most cases they bring it on themselves at the same time they are complaining about it. They fail to keep jobs, have affairs, do things that get them arrested (drunk in public, driving recklessly, drugs or alcohol in the vehical. . .), treat their children poorly and then wonder why they are screwed up, associate with people they shouldn’t. . . They will try very hard to suck YOU into their soap opera life as well. The soap opera king and queens have a lot of crimes committed against them.
We all know people that gravitate toward the wrong people. Alcoholics that marry other alcoholics or “enablers”, the divorced that remarry over and over, the abused that get divorced just to get involved with another that abuses them, troubled kids that out of hundreds will pick the one other kid that can’t stay out of trouble to be their friend.
You will find these people among the rich and famous as well as the unknown poor. They are in every country and the story is always the same. There is nothing anyone can do to help them. It is their character and born personality. If you learn to recognize these people and avoid them then your life will be happier and safer.
AVOIDING situations that put you at risk is a big part of avoiding becoming a statistic. Cities may not have more crime per capita but they have more crime per given area due to the denseness of the population. Walk a block, turn a corner and you may have gone from a good or safe neighborhood to a bad dangerous one. . . This makes most rural areas much safer for most of us.
THE LOW COST of living is what attracts us “rich gringos” to CR and other countries. But that low cost of living also means that there are many low income local people. It was once pointed out to me that my camera and laptop computer were worth more each than a year’s income for most of the workers on a farm I was staying at in CR. Whether we are rich or not (I certainly am not) we are vastly rich compared to most in other countries. This makes us a target no matter where we are. Even if you are not rich you will be perceived as a “rich gringo” with an endless supply of money. . .
Yes, good folks are often victims of crime. But the majority of crimes are committed on people that commit crimes themselves, associate with criminal types OR others that associate with criminal types. If you avoid them and the soap opera players, avoid looking like a rich target, AND stay out of places known for high crime then you will probably not be a victim of a crime. Its largely your choice.
NOTE: I agree that there is a lot of crime against property (petty and not so petty theft) in Costa Rica. But that is different than violent or major crime.
Edited on Sep 16, 2008 08:33
This posted in the wrong place ad reposted here by Scott..
Posted Sep 19,2008 7:43 AM pranaspakeywest
I just got a call from my partner this morning. He’s on a week long visit to Manuel Antonio where we have property and will soon be building our home. last night he was held up on the main road, the only road, that leads through Manuel Antonio.
We know a lot of people there, and I will be interested to see if ANYTHING at all will be done about this.
I am not posting this to complain, we all know about the lack of response to these issues.
I am writing this to announce that ANOTHER CRIME WITH A GUN has been committed.
Some of our locals will not want to announce this, as these incidents will effect tourism for our area.
We too will be depending on tourists when we are settled in Manuel Antonio.
But it is getting worse each year, and no one is stepping up in any effective way.
I can’t do anything form here, in the States.
I can only sound the alarm, once again, that crime is getting worse. Not just reported more.
MA is a tiny town, and should be very easy to keep safe, and it is obvious that far far to little is being done.
I am very aware that statistically speaking Costa Rica is not as bad as many other parts of the world.
For that I am glad.
I have been in and out of the country for over 15 years.
Crime has gotten much worse, and now there are guns, all the time.
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