Policing Tourists

william webster

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Jan 16, 2009
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As we always seem to follow various tourist tragedies...
it begs the question of the role of the country’s police.

Some of us have been talking off the record about this.... not on DR1

Whether lost, hurt, falling off balconies , robbed...
There is a variety of tourist related incidents.... some casual, some severe

Recently, there was some carping about the police not doing enough...being incapable... etc
in a search for missing persons.

My question is... what priority should these tourist accidents be given?

Is it the country’s police job to help drunks, wanderers, and such find their way?
Much of the problem is self inflicted by the tourists themselves.
Balcony drunks, driving drunks....whose responsibility is it to police them?

Personally, as a former resident and now citizen, I would prefer to see them serve and protect the country rather than the visitors.
Maybe the advice we all scorn.... DON’T LEAVE THE COMPOUND.... is actually good advice.

Rep Dom has enough internal issues without caring for the casual visitor who seemingly breaks all the rules consistently.....
The costs much be huge for a force that hasn’t enough money to begin with.

When these visitors are harmed by locals.... OK... have at it.
Catch the perpetrators and punish them.

But the self inflicted stupidity seems to be the more common problem.
 

Cdn_Gringo

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Apr 29, 2014
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The problem could be that "self inflicted stupidity" isn't ascertainable until the matter of a disappearance has been resolved, it is known that the person was drunk when they plunged or were pushed off a balcony or slammed their head into a roadside sign while leaning half naked out a speeding car window...

The last one should be a pretty easy deduction.
 

bigbird

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May 1, 2005
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I can hear the screams now, if it was a relative you would want a full investigation........... Thing is who is supposed to foot the bill for this? Should they add a $50 surcharge to every tourist airline ticket price to provide funding for such investigations. Whoa the screams then...........

No doubt la rep dom will use up more manpower and finances investigating tourists tragedies than they will do for their own citizens.
 

Cdn_Gringo

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Apr 29, 2014
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Policing makes up part of the obligatory public costs of being a country. I have a suspicion that the police in this country are kept "dumbed down" by design.
 

Africaida

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Jun 19, 2009
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As we always seem to follow various tourist tragedies...
it begs the question of the role of the country’s police.

Some of us have been talking off the record about this.... not on DR1

Whether lost, hurt, falling off balconies , robbed...
There is a variety of tourist related incidents.... some casual, some severe

Recently, there was some carping about the police not doing enough...being incapable... etc
in a search for missing persons.

My question is... what priority should these tourist accidents be given?

Is it the country’s police job to help drunks, wanderers, and such find their way?
Much of the problem is self inflicted by the tourists themselves.
Balcony drunks, driving drunks....whose responsibility is it to police them?

Personally, as a former resident and now citizen, I would prefer to see them serve and protect the country rather than the visitors.
Maybe the advice we all scorn.... DON’T LEAVE THE COMPOUND.... is actually good advice.

Rep Dom has enough internal issues without caring for the casual visitor who seemingly breaks all the rules consistently.....
The costs much be huge for a force that hasn’t enough money to begin with.

When these visitors are harmed by locals.... OK... have at it.
Catch the perpetrators and punish them.

But the self inflicted stupidity seems to be the more common problem.

Odd point WW...Should Dominican Police help drunk Dominican...Isn't self inflicted if anything happen ?

Not convinced that most of the problem are self inflicted. In fact, in the grand scheme of things, I feel like very few bad things happen to tourists.

Nothing ever happened to me while in DR, but if God forbids something happens, I DO hope the police would help me if in need even though I am not DR citizen, nor resident.

Tourism is one of DR biggest export, so they have to find a way to protect their visitors, image is everything.

Many residents started as tourists you know.
 

william webster

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Jan 16, 2009
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I understand the points...

But tourists might consume an inordinate amount of time and money.

Should they be privileged ??

First things first... citizens/residents... then tourists

They are well housed and cared for in their chosen locations...

Yes, the police are helpful to all.... I have found.
But careless activities by visitors should be treated as such... perhaps
 

cobraboy

Pro-Bono Demolition Hobbyist
Jul 24, 2004
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The tourist police can do nothing about tourist idiocy.

Nor should they be responsible whan an idiot does something, like these two apparantly did, in some random part of the country.

These two are not the first to go "missing."

I'm not sure we can cast legitimate shade on the tourist seciruty infrastructure based on what these two did.

It is sad, indeed, for their lives to end as they did, in a foreign country.

But no way any tourist security force can be Momma Duck to 7,000,000 tourists.

And certainly you can't police idiots. But Darwin can.
 

william webster

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Jan 16, 2009
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As of now
The FBI have commandeered the local police to do their bidding.... as I read it.

Where is their embassy in all this ??
 

cobraboy

Pro-Bono Demolition Hobbyist
Jul 24, 2004
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PN here are always willing to help touri$t.
I may be in the minority here, but I've always found the PN to be somewhat helpful when I needed them, and when I didn't it only cost a bottle of Gatorade.
 

bigbird

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May 1, 2005
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Odd point WW...Should Dominican Police help drunk Dominican...Isn't self inflicted if anything happen ?

Not convinced that most of the problem are self inflicted. In fact, in the grand scheme of things, I feel like very few bad things happen to tourists.

Nothing ever happened to me while in DR, but if God forbids something happens, I DO hope the police would help me if in need even though I am not DR citizen, nor resident.

Tourism is one of DR biggest export, so they have to find a way to protect their visitors, image is everything.

Many residents started as tourists you know.

I think what the thought here is are the Dominican authorities supposed to Go ALL Out because it was a tourist involved? One thing happens to a tourist and same thing happens to a local should more effort be spent because it was a tourist?
 

Africaida

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Jun 19, 2009
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I understand the points...

But tourists might consume an inordinate amount of time and money.

Should they be privileged ??

First things first... citizens/residents... then tourists

They are well housed and cared for in their chosen locations...

Yes, the police are helpful to all.... I have found.
But careless activities by visitors should be treated as such... perhaps

Do they really ? DR is a resort destination, most of the tourists do stay in their resort.
 

william webster

Platinum
Jan 16, 2009
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I think what the thought here is are the Dominican authorities supposed to Go ALL Out because it was a tourist involved? One thing happens to a tourist and same thing happens to a local should more effort be spent because it was a tourist?

In fact the oddity is...the irony is that

The local guy expects less than the visitor expects....

This country has enough problems of its own..... and not enough staff & $$$ to help
 

bigbird

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May 1, 2005
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The tourist police can do nothing about tourist idiocy.

Nor should they be responsible whan an idiot does something, like these two apparantly did, in some random part of the country.

These two are not the first to go "missing."

I'm not sure we can cast legitimate shade on the tourist seciruty infrastructure based on what these two did.

It is sad, indeed, for their lives to end as they did, in a foreign country.

But no way any tourist security force can be Momma Duck to 7,000,000 tourists.

And certainly you can't police idiots. But Darwin can.

I hear you, if an 80 year old Dominican grandma went missing do you think the PN would drop everything they are doing to locate here. I think NOT, so does a tourist rate higher than locals.
 

william webster

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Jan 16, 2009
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Do they really ? DR is a resort destination, most of the tourists do stay in their resort.

I said MIGHT ... "frica

Quote Originally Posted by william webster View Post
I understand the points...

But tourists might consume an inordinate amount of time and money.

Should they be privileged ??

First things first... citizens/residents... then tourists

They are well housed and cared for in their chosen locations...

Yes, the police are helpful to all.... I have found.
But careless activities by visitors should be treated as such... perhaps

but the recent cases don't support your claim.....

Less happens in the self policed resort...

Outside can be dangerous to the uninitiated
and costly to the country
 

Africaida

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Jun 19, 2009
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I think what the thought here is are the Dominican authorities supposed to Go ALL Out because it was a tourist involved? One thing happens to a tourist and same thing happens to a local should more effort be spent because it was a tourist?

You know what ? Money talks. I don't make the rules :paranoid:

If the daughter of a influential dominicano from Santiago or SD was nowhere to be found, the police would go ALL out.

Not too long ago, that story happened in LT, it made the papers and they did investigate. Why ? https://atento.com.do/archivos/4958
 

william webster

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Jan 16, 2009
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You know what ? Money talks. I don't make the rules :paranoid:

If the daughter of a influential dominicano from Santiago or SD was nowhere to be found, the police would go ALL out.

Not too long ago, that story happened in LT, it made the papers and they did investigate. Why ? https://atento.com.do/archivos/4958

You're not naive enough to think that the family didn't 'incent' the police with some cash are you.?

That's where the $$ talks - in the hands of the investigators

an old saying...
Money doesn't talk --- IT SCREAMS!!!
 

Africaida

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Jun 19, 2009
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I said MIGHT ... "frica

Quote Originally Posted by william webster View Post
I understand the points...

But tourists might consume an inordinate amount of time and money.

Should they be privileged ??

First things first... citizens/residents... then tourists

They are well housed and cared for in their chosen locations...

Yes, the police are helpful to all.... I have found.
But careless activities by visitors should be treated as such... perhaps

but the recent cases don't support your claim.....

Less happens in the self policed resort...

Outside can be dangerous to the uninitiated
and costly to the country

I understand your point, but how do you define "careless" ? How do you know they were careless before you even solve the case.

DR receive millions of tourists yearly, we can count on one hand the number of cases, unless I have missed something, lol :)
 

bigbird

Gold
May 1, 2005
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You know what ? Money talks. I don't make the rules :paranoid:

If the daughter of a influential dominicano from Santiago or SD was nowhere to be found, the police would go ALL out.

Not too long ago, that story happened in LT, it made the papers and they did investigate. Why ? https://atento.com.do/archivos/4958

yes dear, money does the talking most always.

The PN as far as I see it do a good job of solving tourist problems but you got the ones screaming they should have done more and done it faster. They solved the Dutchman case and I say they solved this most recent missing persons in a timely manner.