la policia nacional

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irishpaddy

Bronze
Sep 3, 2013
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was travelling yesterday from santo domingo to jarabacoa....when making the turn off the highway...came upon a police checkpoint ....was asked where I was coming from where I was going ...and before I was sent on my merry way .....demanded a 100 peso donation
after I gave him the 100 peso and drove off...I thought more about it and i was ****ed off ...first for getting robbed and secondly because I think it contributes to more tourists having problems
what would be the best way to handle this in the future ...preferably without lining the pockets of the police
 
Robert

Robert

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irishpaddy said:
was travelling yesterday from santo domingo to jarabacoa....when making the turn off the highway...came upon a police checkpoint ....was asked where I was coming from where I was going ...and before I was sent on my merry way .....demanded a 100 peso donation
after I gave him the 100 peso and drove off...I thought more about it and i was ****ed off ...first for getting robbed and secondly because I think it contributes to more tourists having problems
what would be the best way to handle this in the future ...preferably without lining the pockets of the police
Click to expand...

Tell them to **** off!

They ask for money, ask for their badge number and name, they will soon run like cockroaches.

15+ yrs of driving all over the DR I have never paid a bribe.
 
bob saunders

bob saunders

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Jan 1, 2002
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Never paid and never been asked, and I get stopped by the roadblocks towards Jarabacoa every month, however I wouldn't be too upset about 100 peso donation.
 
Peterj

Peterj

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Oct 7, 2002
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I have a (cheap) dashcam, when stopped by any of these circus-acts I turn it towards the passenger-window in a way they can't miss.....

If I meet one that has no clue (a lot) I explain him it's a camera for my safety and it also records sound...."Que pasa un buen viaje se?or!" I hear mostly.
 
R

RandyLRM

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May 21, 2014
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They have been doing random checkpoints on the La Romana on/off ramps for the last couple of months. I think it's their interdiction team (all black BDUs). Each time I have been stopped they have been very professional, following essentially the same script, except once. He started with the "I am very hungry today...." I told him that I don't pay, he was better than that, thanked him for his service and said that if there were no problems, I'd be going. Then I drove off. I have seen him once since then, he recognized me and didn't say a word.

As has been pointed out to me, there is also a risk in paying. Once you do that, you have actually done something that they can haul you off for. My girlfriend takes the same approach. She doesn't pay.

That said, when it's 4,000 degrees, Celsius, out, I have no problem picking up an extra couple of Cokes at Jumbo and handing them out on my way back from the store. That's my legit "thank you" to them, as, like I said, any dealing I have had with them has been positive, except the one.
 
PICHARDO

PICHARDO

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May 15, 2003
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Don't pay or gift a single peso! Ever!

Nothing is going to happen to you if you refuse it. Just do it with a nice smile on your face and say you have no cash on you.

Never give them a penny or offer any goods to them. This will break the cycle.
 
I

irishpaddy

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Sep 3, 2013
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thanks for all the advice.............I was caught off guard
100 peso is nothing ....but it was the principle behind it,and I do believe by paying it,it continues the hassle for others
 
H

HUG

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Feb 3, 2009
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Use you smarts. If you are in a quiet area and it looks like you are getting nowhere and could be going nowhere for a whike unless surrendering, and these punks look like they don't have the smarts to know this is going nowhere with you, then 100pesos is a small amount to beable to just get on with your day.
If in a busy place, plenty going on then just ignore the awkward silence, PN don't have authority over traffic anyway. They shouldn't be making standard traffic checks anyway. Tell them this, wait out the few minutes awkward, ask them what they want. If they say they're hungry, just laugh, so are you. You'll be allowed on your way.
Use your head, don't always outright turn them down as the repucutions are sometimes not worth the headache, the wait or the hassle or avoidance is sometimes worth a few pesos.
 
K

kenthedentman

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Apr 10, 2012
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On the other hand, if you were in the states, there is no way to bribe your way out. So you get stuck with tickets, points on your license. Then once you are pulled over they will try to find anything they can to arrest you. If you are arrested the true nightmare begins. Personally I prefer paying a small bribe. 100 pesos? Man i would fork over double without blinking an eye and probably buy the guy a beer. Just kidding. I know the harrassment is annoying, but having dealt with police in America, i would prefer the Dominican way. You can bribe your way out for pennies on the dollar for just about anything DR.

Simple example would be DUI or minor possesion charges. America, you are facing +10000usd by the time you pay the courts, bail bondsmen, lawyers plus lost time at work etc etc and etc. Either of those two charges would easily be avoided in the DR with a gift of 100-200usd.

Hell you can get out of murder charges in the DR for less than the cost of DUI in the US. Not saying THAT is good but....

Think I will just continue paying the bribes for driving while white.
 
H

HUG

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kenthedentman said:
On the other hand, if you were in the states, there is no way to bribe your way out. So you get stuck with tickets, points on your license. Then once you are pulled over they will try to find anything they can to arrest you. If you are arrested the true nightmare begins. Personally I prefer paying a small bribe. 100 pesos? Man i would fork over double without blinking an eye and probably buy the guy a beer. Just kidding. I know the harrassment is annoying, but having dealt with police in America, i would prefer the Dominican way. You can bribe your way out for pennies on the dollar for just about anything DR.

Simple example would be DUI or minor possesion charges. America, you are facing +10000usd by the time you pay the courts, bail bondsmen, lawyers plus lost time at work etc etc and etc. Either of those two charges would easily be avoided in the DR with a gift of 100-200usd.

Hell you can get out of murder charges in the DR for less than the cost of DUI in the US. Not saying THAT is good but....

Think I will just continue paying the bribes for driving while white.
Click to expand...

I agree with ALMOST all, but getting away with drug related issues of any quantity does not cost a few pennies, or pesos. If they genuinely have you on any drugs charge then the 100 pesos otherwise backhander soon rises to 100,000. Don't mess with even miniscule amounts of drugs in DR. Drink driving and whatever is totally acceptable, but it takes real idiots to go anywhere near any illegal drugs.
 
W

william webster

Platinum
Jan 16, 2009
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I'm with you Dentman

I rarely stop and don't enjoy the 'propina' but.........

a friendly cop is better than angry cop -- in any country

with my luck, I'd stiff the guy....go 1/2 mile down the road get slammed by a 3 wheeled(should have 4) vehicle with no windshield....
I'd call the same police to help and screwed over in retribution

Had I given the 100 pesos, the loyal civil servant would spring to my aid - pocket flush with mi dinero.

Literally, I have had that happen to me in Canada
Been polite etc
Next time the same cop showed up (yrs later) at my accident , we called each other by name and he threw the book at the other guy...... suspended him for 6 months

Justice ?? who's to say
re-read e happy/angry part.....
 
melphis

melphis

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2 years ago we were stopped and they wanted 100 pesos. We were loaded down with all sorts of household stuff and they started asking if we had pistols in any boxes. We gave them the 100 pesos to avoid opening all the boxes. They let us go and passed us about a mile down the road.
About 20 miles later we pulled in to get a beer and the police national were there. We bought a beer and they invited us over to have a shot of rum to which we contributed to. We stayed for a drink and bought them a beer.
I still think it was a great investment. I don't like being pressured into paying anymore than the next guy but sometimes you need to do it.
Treat each stop on its own merit and go from there. They have great memories.
 
Wishing you well

Wishing you well

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Sep 4, 2012
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PICHARDO said:
Don't pay or gift a single peso! Ever!

Nothing is going to happen to you if you refuse it. Just do it with a nice smile on your face and say you have no cash on you.

Never give them a penny or offer any goods to them. This will break the cycle.
Click to expand...

Wishful and superfluous thinking at best, the cycle will continue to go on, its a DNA thing Pichardo but you out of us all should know better. It is the way the cookie crumbles in the DR, get with the program of out of the way.
 
T

tommeyers

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Jan 2, 2012
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I live in Santiago
kenthedentman said:
On the other hand, if you were in the states, there is no way to bribe your way out. So you get stuck with tickets, points on your license. Then once you are pulled over they will try to find anything they can to arrest you. If you are arrested the true nightmare begins. Personally I prefer paying a small bribe. 100 pesos? Man i would fork over double without blinking an eye and probably buy the guy a beer. Just kidding. I know the harrassment is annoying, but having dealt with police in America, i would prefer the Dominican way. You can bribe your way out for pennies on the dollar for just about anything DR.

Simple example would be DUI or minor possesion charges. America, you are facing +10000usd by the time you pay the courts, bail bondsmen, lawyers plus lost time at work etc etc and etc. Either of those two charges would easily be avoided in the DR with a gift of 100-200usd.

Hell you can get out of murder charges in the DR for less than the cost of DUI in the US. Not saying THAT is good but....

Think I will just continue paying the bribes for driving while white.
Click to expand...

I don't think the bribes you rationalize reflect a person of good character.
 
C

chic

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Nov 20, 2013
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taking donations for their early retirement from the ricos....is a helping hand...give and give till it hurts...
 
R

ramesses

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Jun 17, 2005
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tommeyers said:
No it would not help.

And if they are qualified for a job with better pay they should take that job.
Click to expand...

If the wage was higher, would it not draw in better people? First responders deserve to be compensated properly imo.

Again...this is the DR...I m probably wrong.
 
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