solituna said:
A friend of mine out walking in the Mirador park with his wife and kid, were robbed by 2 guys at knife point. After the incident he went to the local cops in the park for help. They told him that lately the crime rate is going upward and that only on that Sunday, 2 other couples had been robbed in the park. One of them injured, cut in the leg with a knife.
It is worth while noting that the cops in the park are "closed" between 12 noon and 2. Out for lunch!!
Co?o! Diablo!
Mirador park has always been very dangerous. My wife/her father were robbed there back in 1987, and my parents always told me never to go into the park period.
Also someone suggested overstating your loss to the police in Sosua concerning losses, just remember many of the thieves themselves in the DR ARE the Police. Get them thinking you have stuff worth 200k in your home and you may find yourself a victim of a much worse crime. Bad idea in my opinion.
The idea is to not attract attention if you don't want to get robbed, but that's hard to do walking around lily white in a country of dark skinned people. Everyone knows where you live already, the question is how do you deter being robbed?
Here are some tried and true Dominican techniques:
1. 15 foot walls around the house.
2. Broken bottle in cement trick on top of the walls.
3. Cameras.
4. Dogs.
5. Huge bars on all your windows.
6. Lots and lots of guns.
However, the best method in my experience is to live in a high rise building on the 4th floor or higher and bar up your patio/windows. Living in a house as a perceived/real "rich" person isn't advisable in the current environment....especially in an area like Sosua where you stand out.
This also may sound ridiculous, but in Sto Dgo it worked pretty well. Realize you're being scoped out by the locals quite a bit. Make a showing of going out wearing a gun......this will deter some people.
Also, something people don't do much but many Dominicans do.......if you think you are being scoped out make some dirt patches under your windows at night, wet them thoroughly. Obviously make sure all your bars on your windows/doors are thoroughly tightened so you're safe inside. In the morning, check that mud for footprints........
Also, I think a lot of peopl ehave this situation in Santo Domingo especially. People build 15 foot walls but have 50 foot high houses, and only 5 foot gaps between their walls/roofs of exposed portions of their first floors. This obviously allows for easy access to second floor windows. Barring ONLY your first floor windows IS NOT enough. Ladders etc, using your own walls as a ladder are all too easy for a thief to do. BAR UP EVERY SINGLE WINDOW IN YOUR HOUSE! LOCK THEM EVERY SINGLE NIGHT! DO NOT THINK A GLASS PANE OR WOOD COMBINED WITH A SIMPLE LOCK IS ENOUGH TO KEEP THIEVES OUT! You need to build a literal fortress to stay safe down there........believe it.
