Petty Crime on North Coast

Yes you should always be prepared for crime even when you think you do not need it.  As soon as you were gone..............means you were being watched! So, take appropriate precautions.

A few things that may help include:

Having a security guard if living in a gated community.
Getting dogs.
Have trustworthy individuals stay in your home if your gone for a day or more.
Having plenty of light around your property or its perimeter in the evening.

Yes, coincidentally it was the only night the light weren't on.  Normally, the lights are all on and our neighbors can see all the doors to our house...so, that won't happen again.

Sadly, this isn't the first experience with break ins...and I live in the States.

I suppose the most important thing is that your family is safe and no physical harm was caused.

Yes many use security guards, dogs and even alarm systems. Especially if living "isolated"

Bob K

This isn't a serious loss but none the less a theft. This is a gated community. We feel very good security. We had family fly back to the balmy climates of Fort McMurray. My wife did the laundry and hung sheets on the line out back. The line is 3 feet from back door into the house. We saw no one but heard the delivery guy dropping off pool chemicals in the laundry room. Looked out back and one fitted bed sheet is gone including clothes pins. Doors are wide open to the pool, I'm lazying around on couch and wife is cleaning all within feet of where the sheet is hung.

Is the lesson of the day:

1] Don't stay out boozin late the night before laundry day and be a slug on the couch.
2] Use disposable bedding.
3] If someone can snatch a bed sheet in broad daylight feet away from us look after your items and don't leave anything out.

My other half was slightly peeved but suggested we chuckle... we just got schooled at very little cost.

I did report it to the management agency.

I'm sorry to hear that RAMDADDY. Like you said, at least it wasn't an expensive item.

Another possible deterrent to theft are security cameras in the home. Perhaps the thief would have abstained from taking the item if he saw a camera recording him coming in and out of the house.

There is a wide selection of these wifi enabled security cameras in computer stores and PriceSmart.

Sadly where crime is concerned, if the crims really want to rob you they will. In reality nothing will stop them if determined enough, whether one has Iron bars, alarms, dogs etc .

A .357 Magnum between the eyes would stop them, but unfortunately then youre the criminal .

All one can do really is minimise the risk,
Security guards could be effective, but as many long term expats here know , they are at times the cause, working with the criminals to target and set up Gringos.

Cameras can help, but of course unless the criminals have the IQ of a vegetable (which some do) they will wear mask etc to disguise themselves.
One type of camera I find useful are the internet connected ones which can be quite cheaply bought on Amazon. I got one for 25 Dollars and works pretty well.
They actually can be set up to detect movement and instantly send email alert to your mobile and snap an imagine of what caused the trigger.
Plus being Internet based you can use it while anywhere in the world.
So in theory one could alert cops virtually while the criminals are on premises, but as I said in theory,,,would require an efficient police force and ...ermm... dont think DR cops would quite fit into that category.

I woke up the other night and had to scratch an itch on my back. Every itch reminds me of Marty my friend back in Red Deer now a quadriplegic. I asked last time we met what was the hardest thing in his life. He shared with me when he was recovering in Calgary at Foothills Hospital he could hear a person crying. He found a young man in his room. The person went to Mexico on a holiday and after too much boozing he dove into the pool and broke his neck. He was crying because he had an itch and couldn't scratch it.
Every time I have an itch Im reminded of Marty who cannot.

We may have problems but ours are not in line with others.

We spent approx 15 years looking to relocate. I thought heaven in Belize Island until we met a ex pat married to Belizian for most of her life. For weeks she never shared negatives of island living. Elderly lady from Canada living on Belizian Island most of her adult life. I was painting a rosy picture of relocating.

One day over tea she struggled with the story of her husband passing away and their one loyal staffer raping her shortly after. 

In the Bahamas one theft after the other in well heeled gated community. The doctor finally went back home to Canada.

The tourist bus was robbed at gunpoint in Costa Rica. Tourist shot dead for his camera in Honduras. I subscribed to the Tico Times for 2 years. Events recorded in the paper never hit mainstream media.

Its easy to retreat home. Each uncovering of crime in any Caribbean location turned me backwards. The safety and comfort of the known. No one should be condemned for doing so. The world media purposely engineers crime as the daily feature.

Crime is real and I made the connection of where my risk tolerance is today..should be today from my past.   

I'm an idiot :}
Why does one grow older and think maybe wiser. MY only truth is I run on experiences.

Growing up a kid from the north with grade 9 as my highest level of education I am blessed with working around the globe. Blessed should not be confused with prepared to work around the globe.
The only way to get ahead was to be the 1st in line and jump in feet first.

Who wants to take a job in Pakistan during the Russian/ Afghanistan conflict. Why not? How hard can that be...lol

Each project accepted was preceded by CEDA coming into the the office and talk about tribes fighting in Micronesia or kidnappings in Columbia, bombings in India...The smile never left my face and was certainly  mistaken for acknowledgement and caution.

Passport in hand walked, taxied, bused, train and flew.
Working in countries with a grin from ear to ear.

We remained distanced from drugs and known spots.
We stayed out of high crime areas.
Used the same judgement as when home.

My theme will sound like a broken record. No one lives forever so I'm alive for today. My wife is slowly coming around to this mind set.

I always have fear sitting on my shoulder.
Shit can happen. No push back from me.

Direction, not desire, determines destination." In other words, we are all going to end up somewhere, so we probably should go down the path that is going to get us to where we want to end up.

I purchased local health insurance last week. Among the option I wanted was death feature. Enough pesos to get me into the capital for autopsy, cremated and sent home in a Brugal bottle. I need to think this out I'm told. OK..President Light bottle...hell ship me home in a pineapple or coconut.

As always my thoughts are mine. I'm grateful to the writings on this and similar posts that reminded me we live for today and to get on with living.  My home was robbed in Vancouver the day the movers dropped off our goods. My truck vandalized outside of Ottawa. Hotel room ransacked in Indianapolis. Canadian shootings across the country are common. In our tourism region B&E's are daily. Friends are dropping off in death or sickness like flies.

Meanwhile back at the ranch...The tacos at El Conde for 95 pesos were amazing yesterday. Driving home on the scooter the roads bare of traffic and the air cooler than usual.

You will know me even though we've never met. I have a smile from ear to ear that simply cant be removed.

Peace & love everyone. Have a great day everyone.

Once again, great post. I understand where you are coming from. I too have worked in India, Bangladesh and others. Most recently Nigeria. I should have retired years ago, but I like what I do, let the adventure continue.

Stan. Back when I was moving about the world was different. A Canadian lapel pin meant much.

Your working in places like Nigeria.... today?? Makes my travels like like daycare..lol

Your in a league of your own requiring a special membership. Good for you !

I do agree with you on adventure...I cant remember the last item before our backpack purchase but memories are embedded long term.

There isn't a better way to learn the different cultures in the world then to live in them. No matter where you go you can't change anything. So my motto is live and accept and give back when ever you can.

Ramdaddy  Great post.  I am smiling with you

Bob K

awesome!  that's what life is all about..living!

Excellent post and attitude. Hearing some of the people whine about crime here makes me wonder why they are here ? I have lived, worked, and visited here for 34 years. The only thing I ever has stolen was a kayaking helmet. Part of that is where you live and your apparent affluence. In the deep campo, my doors are open all day. Even if I am gone. Living in Tourist Zones certainly has benefits. Living with real, hard working Campesinos as neighbors would show you that most Dominicans would never steal or harm their neighbors. Living in a "gated" community ... and having Dominicans only as employees, can be a big 🖕to many people here. You do not care about them, so they do not care about you or your property.  These are intelligent, loving people. You will be treated as you treat them. There are desperate and thieving people all over the planet .... I have been lucky here. I have been robbed several times in the US, only lost that helmet, in a tourist area ! Some people will never find peace and safety anywhere. The person who wants to be shipped home in a Brugal Bottle, I feel, has !

Great reading. I smile when long time travelers running between Nigeria to DR pipe in personal experiences.

Its refreshing.

Thank you!!

If its so safe in the countryside, why do we still see bars on all windows, etc?

Colonel..thats a great point and Ive asked myself that for many years..It goes way back ..

The History of Home Security.

Bars on windows and doors is inexpensive.

Home security has been a concern for humans as long as humans have had homes. For example, in medieval times castles were designed with the idea of protection in mind. Security measures involved guards, moats, and castles specifically designed for withstanding an attack or intrusion. These security measures were effective even if they were simplistic and barbaric. While these methods worked in the days of the crusades, they are unrealistic to implement in modern day suburbia, not to mention they wouldn’t pass zoning laws. Technological advances, such as electricity, have paved the way to sophisticated home security that is affordable and effective for the modern family.

Augustus Pope. Augustus R. Pope is credited with creating the first security alarm, utilizing electro-magnets. A Harvard graduate, and a Somerville resident, Pope was in the perfect place to develop his creation. At that time, Boston was the hub for telegraphic development and manufacturing. Pope worked alongside the great minds of Edwin Holmes, Moses Farmer, and Alexander Graham Bell as they developed their respective inventions. Pope patented his home burglar alarm concept in 1853. Due to failing health he later sold the patent to Holmes, who is credited with commercializing and distributing the system in New York City, making it available to the wealthiest residences and businesses. Pope’s simple, but innovative design changed the way that people approached property security. The system involved magnetic contacts which were installed on any point of entry from the exterior. If doors and windows were opened once the system was set, an alarm would sound inside the house. This rudimentary design was limited by today’s standards because it was unable to contact police, like modern technology, but it was effective at preventing break-ins and loss of property nonetheless.

Cause you do not get far from your area. I live in a village with 40 houses. Not one has bars on the doors and windows. Only the Banca. Based on your previous posts, your opinion is mostly irrevelant.