Robbery in Costa Azul...

[johne]

Originally Posted by Lambada

Sorry but I can't allow this to go unchallenged. It sounds like all maids steal - they don't. It also sounds a bit like you think poverty leads to crime. There are millions of poor Dominicans who would never dream of stealing anything. I really don't want to be picky but new posters like jbrantiii could get entirely the wrong impression about the Dominican people. Poverty is poverty. Crime is crime. Dominicans are victims of crime far more than foreigners are and they feel equally unhappy about it. You cannot excuse crime because 'the temptation is too great'. That holds one group of people to a lesser standard of integrity than another group. If you really think that poverty causes crime how do you explain middle class crime, or crime by the very rich.........?

Armed robberies are carried out by those who choose to make this their way of gaining money or by addicts looking to fund their next fix. They are a whole different ballgame from petty pilfering.

I think the biggest disappointment among Dominicans is: Dominicans stealing from Dominicans.

john

[Berzin]

Originally Posted by quaqualita

There are many different gangs 'operating' in the area, with or without help of local police I won't comment here, but I think it's quite obvious.
Correct, one of those gangs is not around anymore since last year and those 3 guys won't be ever around again, but others took their place quickly.

It seems preferred items the gangs are after are cel phones, laptops and camaras and cash of course, guns/pistols if the owners are armed, in some cases and if available they also take the cars of the owners and fill them up with bigger items like TV's or invertors, etc.

Also note that those gangs do not only target 'gringos'. There are many middle class Domnicans living those areas also, almost everybody has a cel phone nowadays, many have laptops - that's enough to be a target for the gangs and they get home invasions in the same way and amount like 'gringos' do, if not more. Unless somebody gets killed, only small faction of this robberies makes it into the news.

What kind of place is this that there are so many armed robberies every week? If this area is so-called middle class why don't these people raise money for a private security force, or go out at night armed to the teeth and go delinquente hunting?

If some of these goons were found hung by their testicles every morning it may give these thieves pause. Better yet, cut their heads off, film it and send the video to all dominican news media outlets.

[Lambada]

Suggestion for jbrantiii, if I may. You were asking about security in Bavaro, Higuey & Punta Cana. Many of the posters on this thread are living on the north coast & as such we really know nothing about the east and south east. But there is a very helpful poster called rubio_higuey who actually lives in Higuey. If you go to his profile you'll see how to PM him - suggest you ask him your question because he will have location specific knowledge.
http://www.dr1.com/forums/members/rubio_higuey.html
And he really is very helpful (e.g.very nice post helping someone in Canada about a dog they'd adopted) so don't worry that he'll be one of the other examples because he seems to me to both know his stuff & be interested in helping others. I'm sure he will know to what degree Higuey has the same problem as Jardin Deportivo or Costa Azul on the north coast.

[Rocky]

Thank you CFA for bringing this to our attention.
Thank you Quaqualita for giving us all the accurate details.
Thank you Lambada for keeping (or at least, trying) this thread on track.

We, as responsible informed DR1 members, are damned if we do and damned if we don't, when it comes to informing the general public (in particular, the newbies) about security issues.
We feel morally obliged to inform others of crime problems, so as to keep them safe, but that very same info scares the pants off of them, like we were living in Beirut.

This is a different world than where most expats come from.
People who want to and do move here, who subscribe to the mentality that the government should take care of everything for them, including personal security, should go back to where they came from, as they will always be crime targets.
This country offers wonderful possibilities for a happy fulfilling life for individualistic type people, who welcome the opportunity to make their own decisions in life, who welcome taking care of themselves, rather than the robot-like life style (you're just a number) of the industrialized nations.
The DR is not for everybody, but those who do fit in, find a paradise that is virtually unparalleled.

Those who are uninformed, should heed the info being offered to them and are welcome to ask any and all questions.
If in doubt about the answers received for said questions, always consider the source.
One can click on a poster's name to view all their posts. From that, one can generally establish a person's credibility, as well as determine how informed he or she might be.
If in doubt, contact a moderator and ask him/her about the credibility of a given post and/or poster.

[Lambada]

Just looked at CFA's photos of Cabarete roadworks on another thread & a thought struck me. In Puerto Plata our crime 'surge' was at the beginning of the year when (coincidentally?) the roadworks were in full swing - now things seem much more average. The areas highlighted in this thread i.e. Jardin Deportivo & others are both sides of Cabarete & Cabarete now has mammoth roadworks. Couldn't possibly be any connection could there?

[Chris]

My previous heads-up to posters that I am going to delete further off-topic posts became history when I cleaned up this thread. Here the heads-up is again - please stay on topic otherwise your post will be deleted.

This thread has now split in two .. the 2nd section about Google searches is here.

[quaqualita]

Originally Posted by Lambada

Just looked at CFA's photos of Cabarete roadworks on another thread & a thought struck me. In Puerto Plata our crime 'surge' was at the beginning of the year when (coincidentally?) the roadworks were in full swing - now things seem much more average. The areas highlighted in this thread i.e. Jardin Deportivo & others are both sides of Cabarete & Cabarete now has mammoth roadworks. Couldn't possibly be any connection could there?

I actually daubt a connection between the roadworks and robbery here. True, more robberies sometimes happen when any construction work is nearby, but the latest roadworks are directly in Cabarete center, where home invasions are usually not happening.
The gangs are most times robbing houses outside of Cabarete center. They 'work' organized, are professional, they are armed and know how to use their weapons. I daubt they are contruction workers, I even suspect a nation wide network behind them.

Originally Posted by Berzin

If this area is so-called middle class why don't these people raise money for a private security force, or go out at night armed to the teeth and go delinquente hunting?

Easy said, unfortunately not easy done. The areas in question are no 'gated communities'. There is no general administration in charge for this areas. House owners there bought a lot / house, without any obligation to pay monthly administration fees. Now, when let's say 5 house owners get together and want to organize security, lights for the roads, etc. they cannot force all the other house owners to participate, too. Then one or two house owners who are eager to organize good security have to go litterly from house to house and explain what they are planning and ask for money to get things done.

Some house owners will participate, others won't. Maybe the once not wanting to participate can't afford monthly fees, or they don't trust or dislike the person in charge, or they are not in the country at the moment, or simply don't care. And there is no guarantee that the once participating will keep paying their monthly fees in the future.
Good security personal is available in the DR, but not cheap. Security companies charge about 18K Pesos / month for 12hrs armed security person. Of couse depening on the size and access points of the urbanisation you will need many watchmen, not just one.

If let's say 50 house owners participate and split the costs wouldn't be a problem. However, most times only few participate, the costs per owner are very high and of course it's frusting to pay then for security also for the once living in the same area not participating. I don't live in the area in question in this thread, but used to live in a similar 'open' community'. To organize a neighbourhood association and get things done can be a very time consuming and frustrating 'job'.

It's a totally different story in gated communities or apartment projects where every owner pays a monthly fix fee and the administrator has a budget to organize top security.

[Criss Colon]

So, "Who Ya Gonna Call?". "Ghost Busters?"

If you live in the DR,YOU, must take the responsibility for your own security!! Both your personal well being,and the safety of your personal effects!!
You need to know, Where to go,and when to go there!
You need to protect your family,and your home!
To those who say: "The DR is just like "everyplace else", I say 'Bull$hit!"
I have lived in,and visited,MANY "Otherplacelses", and it is worse here!
Granted,there certainly are many places where life is more dangerous than the DR,but I live here! I am raising my family here!
After spending the last few weeks on "Cape Cod" Massachusetts,I have all but made up my mind that here is where I want my kids to "grow up"!!!!
When I get back to Santo Domingo,I plan to begin "preparations" to do just that!
Then I can be just like "Nals",living in the USA,and posting like I know what is going on in the DR!!!
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC CCCC

[Lambada]

Seriously CCCCCC? You're moving to Cape Cod? So in future the CCCCCCCC won't stand for Criss Colon but Cod Colon? Doesn't quite have the same ring to it. So we'll get advice from Cod Colon & Connecticut Crumble......................?

Quite seriously, I wish you all the best in your new country.

[Chris]

Originally Posted by Criss Colon

After spending the last few weeks on "Cape Cod" Massachusetts,I have all but made up my mind that here is where I want my kids to "grow up"!!!!

Are you serious this time? Even when the white stuff starts coming down from heavens? Cape Cod is so nice! When the sun shines!