Beware of PN in the Capital........roaming gangs of theives

[MommC]

Two Italian tourists from Juan Dolio got stopped by the PN last night in SD.
They 'donated' 300 pesos but decided to return to JD rather than continue their night out so it was a wasted night from their vacation.
Too bad as I'm sure they would have spent considerably more than 300 pesos had they had dinner, drinks and entertainment in the city!!

 

[juanlopez]

larry,

sorry to hear about your experience. this was very common when i was living in the capital area. after my first similar experience it was suggested to not stop for the PN while in a car and go to the nearest cuartel or very public place.

another good tip is to keep the majority of cash and cards in a money belt and only a few hundred pesos in your pocket for a payoff to thieves like the PN.

the PN are horrible and can be bought to do different tasks for as little as 100 pesos.

buen suerte,

Juan

 

[El Diego]

suppose its 2 - 3am and im on la avenida george washington (el malecon) and PN has a checkpoint.

since i know that PN reall has no right to stop vehicles I decide to keep going.

will they chase me?

i've been told that after 6pm any officer, being amet, politur, PN has no business in stopping people unless the situation calls for it. So, at night if cops wave for me to stop, i just continue.. if they follow, then just go to police station... those cops just want bribes,, if they're cops..... if they're not cops then you might be in bigger trouble. If you have done nothing wrong, why should you stop at cops in the middle of the night? They have no reason to have a checkpoint at that time.... but if you do have to stop b/c you're in the city and you can't go beyond 90mph then don't get out of cars and don't give original papers (as mentioned in other posts in this thread).

 

[halbey]

My Story

Hey guys, I like this thread, I think I'll add my little short story of what happened to me a few years back. I was living at the time in Los caciazgos (can never spell it right), and was one my way back to the house. Anyway, I was going down the Luperon and as it sometimes happens in this country, there wasn't light (power), and the all the traffic lights were out. I get to the plaza de bandera and still no power, so i'm just going through all the lights (carefully of course), and not stopping at any of them. Anyway, I see the PN on a motor behind while still on the Luperon but think nothing of it. Later, as i'm going up the Sarasota, he waits to pull me over, he waits till i'm inside the residential area. then, he starts with all the paper, that i ran all the lights, etc, etc. But, after some time, he was like, "i'm hungry, i have a family to feed..." so i gave him 50 pesos (which was more than i should've given) and his only response afterwards was, "have a good day" haha

 

[DavidZ]

Jeez... this makes me glad Im in Cabarete and is making me think twice about driving to SD, which Ive done in the past several times (with no incident) but it sounds like a major hassle now... Here in Cab, there is usually a checkpoint right in front of the police station. I have been waved through, or told I can go after being stopped over a dozen times...never asked for anything, not even my papers...they seem to be "good" cops and only interested in Dominicans with guns or incorrect or missing paperwork...

I was stopped one time in Cabarete while driving a rental car that didnt have the current years placa (winshield sticker). the cop got in the car, explained why he pulled me over... I explained that it was a rental and called the rental company and handed the phone to the cop...he gave it back to me and the manager of the rental company, whom I knew pretty well, told me to give him 500 pesos and she'd send someone to my house with a new placa and the 500 pesos. I gave him the money and he got out of the car and walked back to town.

My only other experience was with AMET in Sosua..I was pulled over for talking on the cellphone... the guy asked for 500 pesos...I didnt have any moeny on me....he told me to come back the next day and pay it... I actually did...and the jefe wasnt there...he told me to come back again the next day... one attempt at honesty was enough for me...

 

[MickA]

Does anyone know of any cases of refusing to give money causing problems?

From the above cases it seems to be pretty much voluntary. I was asked for a "propina" at customs in Punta Cana, politely refused, and was waved through.

 

[Robert]

I never give and never will. Saying that, I haven't been stopped in years.

 

[lucy32]

how do u go about finding a friend of mine in santa domingo.and no iam not playing at this.my mate FRAN POLE is in trouble after being exploited by a man from the uk need to find her fast.can you help wouldnt ask if it wasnt urgent.
thanks Lucy

 

[laurapasinifan]

how do u go about finding a friend of mine in santa domingo.and no iam not playing at this.my mate FRAN POLE is in trouble after being exploited by a man from the uk need to find her fast.can you help wouldnt ask if it wasnt urgent.
thanks Lucy

dont take this wrong...but be realistic.....you want us to help you find someone we dont know at all. You say you know them and have less info that we do.

From our perspective it could be that you want to find someone to harm them in some way and are asking our help for it...we have no way of knowing...

you need to come up with more info on your friend. height, weight, age, nationality, race, last place thought to be living..more sopecific than santO-domingo.

then you MAY have a chance of someone helping you.


bob

 

[GringoCArlos]

Wow, what a thread. I have to agree with JD though.

Gee, what would happen if I was driving in the US, got pulled over by lawful police authority, didn't have a valid driver's license, had no insurance card, and then lied mulitple times to the cop that pulled me over? One guess ,I'm gonna need a lawyer, and I"m gonna have to call him from jail.

Why do foreigners come here, and then blame the cops when THEY are the ones in the wrong. I wish they had hauled your ass to jail, beause YOU Larry and people like you are spoiling it for the rest of us who get our residency, get our driver"s licenses, pay our insurance ,., carry the necessary proof with us, etc. No, I"m not trying to be holier than thou, but you wouldn"t try to pull this **** in the US, and neither wiould the cops!

Which came first , the chicken or the egg? The lying damn foreigners, or the dishonest cops looking for a shakedown?