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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Nov. 21, 2005
For expats, the rules to avoid street and home robbery are simple, and they may be boiled down to one general dictum:
Don't have anything that you can't afford to lose and keep a low profile.
That means women should not have expensive jewelry at home or away from home. And men should not flaunt wealth either. A $20 Timex is the appropriate timepiece.
The discussion of security measures is important because several types of crimes have been in the news recently. These ideas are based on discussions with expats, years of observations and review of daily reports of criminal activity provided by police agencies.
In addition to street robberies and home invasions, carjackings, called bajonazos in Spanish, are becoming more frequent.
In Escazú and Santa Ana, a gang of heavily armed men have been breaking into luxury homes, holding the occupants hostage while they loot the places. The case was reported here Friday. More than 20 such crimes are under investigation.
There are no ways to prevent forced entry into a home if the criminals are motivated. Each week television stations show judicial investigators conducting raids on heavily protected homes. They simply chain the portón or entry gate to a truck and rip the fabricated metal into scrap. A hand-held ram makes short work on the dwelling's main door.
Criminals can do this too, or they can use trickery. In either case, they are prepared and the homeowners are not. Portones, rejas and other types of security bars are useful against petty thieves. But a well-organized, heavily armed gang can overcome any resistance, including security guards.
So the best idea is to have nothing worth stealing. Even inside the home. In this way, expats are better disposed than Costa Ricans. Expensive jewelry can be left in a safety deposit box in the home country, and household goods are purchased locally.
Even more important is the rule to live modestly. Even the better-heeled expats live in modest homes, drive older cars and do not flaunt their goods. The alternative is to live as wealthy Costa Ricans, surrounded by armed guards on sprawling, secured estates and traveling in armored limos.
On the street, many expats carry their personal papers and money in neck pouches.
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Even there they keep the minimum: a local credit card, a photocopy of residency papers. This newspaper has detailed several street robberies involving staffers Nov. 2 and Nov. 17.
Street robbers have been known to pull pierced earings off the ears of women and cut off fingers to remove rings. Frequently muggings take place with the use of a military style headlock that causes unconsciousness. A gang of criminals three years ago mugged hundreds of persons, including at least 30 expats, that way in the Avenida 1 and calles 7 and 9 area. They never were caught.
Calls on cell telephones are better made in restaurants or other secure areas instead of on the sidewalk. A 24-hour black market exits to buy stolen cell telephones in San José.
Of course, trickery exists on the streets where English-speaking crooks, including the notorious Viper Woman, lure expats and tourists to rendezvouses with drinks laden with knockout drops.
There is little defense against gunmen who descend on automobiles at stoplights. A jeweler took a bullet in the chest Friday and he pulled away to avoid a robbery of his car.
Luxury cars and four-wheel drive vehicles are the most sought, and the best response are carjacking systems that turn off the motor if a driver does not answer an automatic request for a code. Then there are the tracking devices that allow police to locate the stolen vehicle.
A delivery vehicle hijacked in Atenas was located last week because the owner had installed such a device.
Children present a special concern. So far most kidnappings in Costa Rica have been for the collection of debts. Foreigners have not been ransom targets. Nevertheless, expat parents here make sure children go to and from school with escorts, and rumors exist of parents implanting tiny locator transmitters under a child's skin, although radio locators in wristwatches and costume jewelry may be more common.
Statistically, the bulk of the street crimes are in the San José core, and some expats refuse to come to town for that reason.
With Christmas coming, police will be beefing up their already strong presence, in part to encourage downtown shopping and protect workers who get their annual bonuses.
Security and law and order are strong themes in the presidential campaigns, so more resources might be directed toward crime-stopping activities next year.
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