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Hi everyone and anyone,
My name is Doug and I am Canadian. I have a question or two, as I am about to re-locate to Costa Rica this fall. Recently a friend of mine told me to be careful when dealing with banks.
He told me of a story in Panama where a recent expat made a bank deposit and someone from that the bank tipped off an outside person who then kidnapped this expat’s son for ransom.
So my question is, has anything like this ever been reported?
Are there any other concerns I should be aware of as a parent?
And would I be looked at as a target for potential crime if I buy an expensive house, or yacht, expensive car etc.?
We plan on staying in the Guanacaste area. Any tips are appreciated.
Sincerely,
Doug.
You need to keep your eyes open at all times whether you are rich or poor.
Kidnapping is not common…but does occasionally happen.
Cell phones are not permitted to be used in any bank by clients, to help stop ‘anyone alerting a partner in crime’ that you have just withdrawn a large amount of money’ and I [i]suppose[/i] a bank employee could alert another individual to your deposit, but have never heard of this, but that’s not to say it is impossible to do so.
Be observant when using an ATM just like you would, anywhere else.
Many more [i]Ticos [/i]own expensive homes and vehicles than expats… with cars costing almost double than at ‘home’.
Consider installing a noisy alarm system on your home or if renting, choose one that does, [i]depending on location[/i]….or have large dogs.
Petty theft is common, so don’t leave bikes outside unless in a secure area.
Avoid leaving articles in your vehicle.
Have you already been to the area you are intending to live in and looked around to see what type of security the ‘neighbors’ have, such as walls, bars on the windows, high fences or razor wire? All are reasonably ‘common’.
Petty thief very common and other crimes seem to be increasing especially night time break ins. It’s sad to see this.
Home invasions or break ins during the night while your sleeping seem to be happening quite a bit now in the Guanacaste. Recently, I know one family friend who was held at gun point while his house was raided.. He was simply watching the sunset on his porch with his son. Then, our next door neighbor was broken into while sleeping and items taken and lady groped while sleeping. Police were interested in the groping but could care less about the computers taken. I could go on telling more stories about things happening in Coco/Playa Hermosa during the last year but I’ll let others chime in with their stories.
I was recently attacked at night while walking my dog in a gated neighborhood. I have 6 witnesses, the police came, did nothing. All they did was give me the guys name and ID and said to file a complaint.
Want to see how slow the wheels of justice turn in Costa Rica, file a denuncia with the courts.
Friends said that I should put a denuncia because I am an ‘adulto mayor’ and the assailant is 40 yrs. old.
Now I have an ‘orden de protection’ from the Juzgada de Violencia Domestica, and I bought a red pepper defense spray to take with me when I walk my dog.
Bottom line, there is no guarantee of personal safety in Costa Rica, especially for expats.
It was reported that [url=www.crhoy.com/hombre-intento-sustraer-a-una-nina-de-escuela-en-escazu-padre-de-la-menor-pide-acciones/]school staff foiled an abduction attempt[/url] on Monday morning, involving a specific 9 year old child, in Escazú, by a man claiming he was her father.
It isn’t often we hear of attempts like this, thank goodness.
[url=http://www.qcostarica.com/2014/08/21/group-collecting-signatures-for-costa-rica-to-implement-amber-alerts/]A group is collecting signatures to start a petition[/url] to activate an Amber Alert program. Please sign this petitionI’m the parent of 4 children. We moved to CR in 2007 when my kids were young (9, 6, 6, & 4). I’ve traveled all over CR as a family, by myself, & even by myself with the kids.
I’ve never once been concerned about the kidnapping issues you brought up, though I’ve heard occasional reports in the news over the years.
Could it happen to us? I suppose there is always a chance of it.
I think certain expats are targets of crime in CR & many are the victims of random petty crimes or crimes of opportunity.
Our home was robbed in 2012 when we were out of the country.
I am pretty certain we were targeted, but am also pretty certain the timing of the robbery was one of opportunity, taking place when we weren’t there with our kids (we’re well known in our small community due to having so many kids & it is fairly easy to know when we’re there & when we’re not).
My best advice is to not be an easy target. We added several security measures to our property, including a professional security system, & have had no issues since (knock on wood!).
Jessica
I arrived in Costa Rica in 1999 and although I have had my car radio stolen when it was parked outside a restaurant in San Pedro (part of San José), I also had my car radio stolen in New York and in Grand Cayman…
When I lived in an 100+ year old adobe home in Escazu, some SOB stole my rocking chair from outside the house.
Apart from that, I have never been attacked and have had no bad experiences here at all except with death threats (and more) from Gringo scam artists who were clearly upset that my warnings were ruining their sales efforts…
Scott
PS. But yeah! The legal system SUCKS!
Did you read this morning on [url=http://amcostarica.com/morenews2.htm]amcostarica[/url], regarding where ‘…a gang of up to 14 armed men descended on the community of Nuevo Arenal’?
Scary stuff…As a kid living in Costa Rica in the late 50’s I remember my mom telling me almost every day to not talk to strangers, specially men who were “satiros” which was the code word for slimy men who liked little boys. Luckily nothing ever happened to me as I had to take the La Salle bus number 5 going to school and coming back in San Jose, plus it also helped that I had friends to walk home with from the bus stop.
Most assuredly things have changed in Costa Rica, some for the better, some for the worst, specially with the increase in population, so maybe some of you parent’s should warn your kids also.A few weeks ago, between where we used to live and where we live now, 4 men dressed in police uniforms, arrived at a friends property saying they had just caught a teen stealing cattle and did he want to lay charges. He said ‘no’ and one of the ‘policemen’ immediately put a gun to his older teens head. They tied them up, broke open a gun cabinet took the firearms …that he had legally purchased after a previous ‘break in’…and ammo and all the electronics in the home and fled, leaving the family, unable to get loose, for 20 hours.
The neighbors later told him [i]’we thought something looked suspicious'[/i] but they did nothing to check on the family.[quote=”sweikert925″]If the point of some of these anecdotes is to prove that crime happens in Costa Rica, all I can say is did anyone previously believe that it didn’t? Doesn’t crime happen everywhere that there are human beings present?
I think that the point that readers are making is that crime in Costa Rica is on the rise as is the increase in the number of drug related incidents. The local news certainly seems to indicate this but who knows what the real stats will show.
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