I have never been stopped by P/N or immigration except at road stops and they usually way us through, on rare occasion I am asked for ID and where I am coming from and going to.
That's good to know.
I don't drive but whenever I rent cars around the holidays I do get stopped and asked for money as is customary during this time of year. I've also been in the car with friends on our way to PP and stopped by the PN for no other reason but for them to ask us for money. The newly paved mountain road from Gurabo to Montellano is the worst.
Here in Santiago it's a lot different than Jarabacoa. The PN in detachment Z-1 (Plaza Valario) are NOTORIOS for their arbitrary overnight detentions of people regarless of how you look, how old you are or where your from. Just walking through downtown after 9pm is enough to get locked up when the commander sends the low-rank out to fill the cells for the night. It's been a long standing problem in this city for years.
Now if you're a gringo living in a bubble you probably have no idea about many of the issues affecting the daily lives of Dominicans however when almost all of your good friends are Dominican living here in the same city, you learn about them with time.
and yes, I know you're married to one.