You can't compare Mexico to the Dominican Republic because of the size of Mexico and the population.
Dominican Republic 10 million.
Mexico 112 million.
- Thread starter silverfunk
- Start date
Corruption in the Dominican Police force.
You can't compare Mexico to the Dominican Republic because of the size of Mexico and the population.
Dominican Republic 10 million.
Mexico 112 million.
Been to Mexico a few times to purchase Taxco silver jewelry......NEVER felt safe there........
Too many murders...too many kidnappings.......
B in Santiago
Too many murders...too many kidnappings.......
B in Santiago
while we're on the subject. say i'm a victim of a police shakedown......what is the appropriate amount to give them if i'm doing nothing wrong? BTW i have never been there but should arrive in November, trembling with fear.
Not to worry grasshopper. Come down and test the waters. As far as shakedowns go.........ummm.....no comment.
i live in a country where a young black guy is shot by a neighborhood watch guy for wearing a hoody. I live in a country where a guy can pull over people in the South posed as a cop and shoots them for fun.,.. I live in a country where people feel they have been bullied at school and decide to blow away 20 kids. I was born in a country where a couple murdered and dismembered children.....and I should be worried about the DR.,.? sure it happens, no one goes through life in a bubble, ...I still dont think it will ever be like walking through Bed Sty or South Ozone Park or even Manchester England ( no disrespect to those living there but you know what I mean).. if it comes to a cop giving me a hard time over a few thousand pesos or getting blown away, I m giving the cop what I can ... is that a perfect life ..? no... will it happen every day in my life I intend to spend in the DR.,... no ....life hits home fast and furious.. you never know walking through the streets of Queens or Brooklyn who is going to jump out and stab you for the fun of it,.. I feel at least I may have a chance of guessing & still surviving the act in the DR ... I stay in Villa Gonzales in the north these days..nothing ever happens.. donkeys , dominoes and chatting, that 's all that seems to happen... now if the perceived crime wave impacts that, my anticipated next home, I will start to worry but still not be paranoid. I refuse to believe the DR is damned and will not change my ideas for my future.. the corruption has always been there, God we know it s here where I live too,albeit not as obvious... I have never really noticed it myself. The posts about the DR being violent, while they may hold water, don t represent my views and what I have seen while there. Dominicans are probably the most friendly and agregious people I have ever met in all my travels in Latin American and the islands.
What worries most of us that live here, incl Dominicans, is the random violence where normal everyday people get attacked or killed. As far as theives killing cops (and vice versa) or banca owners, etc getting killed most feel that danger is part of these types of businesses and aren't generally surprised when something happens. When a normal person is minding their business and is killed people due get up and arms and start complaining a great deal, like when a young girl was killed in los cerros de gurabo a few years back.
As far as random violence goes I believe it is worse in the tourist cities and SD because of the great discrepancy between the haves and have nots.
As far as random violence goes I believe it is worse in the tourist cities and SD because of the great discrepancy between the haves and have nots.
While violence is everywhere since we live here this is where we feel it the most. Yes Dominicans are friendly etc..but trustworthy many are not. While random violence happens everywhere it hits home for the most us because again we live here. When a elderly person is killed for a few pesos, it hits home, when someone is killed for their cell phone, it hits home. When those who are a victim of violence and feel they have no where to turn, again it hits home. As far as the police it seems that the Dominican people acknowledge the corruption and just accept it as a way of life. You can not compare crime in the US to crime here in DR, its impossible.
Santo Domingo, in El Million. The lifestyle you lead also helps you feel safe meaning per your previous post you stated your not out and about at night and I agree with that. I do not find myself out that much at night here in the Capital unless it is for a special reason. However when I am back in the US I may find myself taking a trip to the grocery store, etc at night where as here I really would not do that. When I visit the in-laws in the campo do I feel safer, yes I do. Mostly because everyone knows everyone. The lifestyle in the Capital is not like that.
I agree Chip... I live in Queens NY and the amount of people being mugged & killed for sneakers, Ipods and the smallest items , is an everyday affair here..despite what commission Kelly and Mayor Bloomberg want to put out there....but we can t be phased by it or we would never go out...it seems a meaner life here sometimes. things are done to hurt and for fun.. in the DR as weird as it seems, necessity might be a more powerful driving force behind it albeit as insidious... I look forward to having a beer with you in a few weeks.. I love the campo and everyone knows me there after all these years...it is a different social way and it showed itself the last time I was there when I actually walked along the streets ina funeral cortege with the casket of an old lady who died in El. Limon...I am sure I m still the gringo but people are friendly and dont ask me for anything... I give but they don t ask. I really hate the stories I am also hearing here about the terrible things going on on the DR.. and Dominicans here are the ones saying them... it must be a different DR than I know because , apart from some problems in the capital, I ve been treated like nothing less than a king in the North////
While I'm sure there is a lot of corruption in the Nacional Policia, I don't see the massive corruption that's always talked about.
I do know a few Nacional Policia who have to work two or three jobs to make ends meet because of their low pay, and I know one or two high ranking officials who are corrupt, but in my opinion, the rank and file is just trying to get by and navigate a brutal system while making monthly what the average American factory employee makes daily. Some are corrupt, and some are looking to pad their meager income by extorting foreigners,but to say that this is a majority is not true. There are hard working Policia who wouldn't take a bribe no matter how large, and there are many honest ones out there, but they are often overlooked for the rotten ones.
One of the prevailing attitudes though, is, you're in their country, and whatever happened to you wouldn't have had you stayed in your own country. Some forget they are not home in New York, London, Barcelona, or wherever they are from, but in an underdeveloped country where most of the people live in poverty. If your home is broken into and your jewelry that is worth more than one officer will make in a lifetime is stolen, you wont evoke a lot of sympathy.
My family is filled with Policia of all ranks from patrolman up , and not one of them is corrupt, I do know some corrupt ones , and the average policia avoid them, and eventually, the corrupt ones are weeded out. While some think it's tolerable , it's not, even poor as they are, most of the Policia are very proud people, and one corrupt police stains them all. Usually when you read a story that a certain police official was found in a park, or in his home, dead, you can be assured that their greed has caught up with them. The fate of corrupt police is pretty much a given....
I do know a few Nacional Policia who have to work two or three jobs to make ends meet because of their low pay, and I know one or two high ranking officials who are corrupt, but in my opinion, the rank and file is just trying to get by and navigate a brutal system while making monthly what the average American factory employee makes daily. Some are corrupt, and some are looking to pad their meager income by extorting foreigners,but to say that this is a majority is not true. There are hard working Policia who wouldn't take a bribe no matter how large, and there are many honest ones out there, but they are often overlooked for the rotten ones.
One of the prevailing attitudes though, is, you're in their country, and whatever happened to you wouldn't have had you stayed in your own country. Some forget they are not home in New York, London, Barcelona, or wherever they are from, but in an underdeveloped country where most of the people live in poverty. If your home is broken into and your jewelry that is worth more than one officer will make in a lifetime is stolen, you wont evoke a lot of sympathy.
My family is filled with Policia of all ranks from patrolman up , and not one of them is corrupt, I do know some corrupt ones , and the average policia avoid them, and eventually, the corrupt ones are weeded out. While some think it's tolerable , it's not, even poor as they are, most of the Policia are very proud people, and one corrupt police stains them all. Usually when you read a story that a certain police official was found in a park, or in his home, dead, you can be assured that their greed has caught up with them. The fate of corrupt police is pretty much a given....
Your post was out of line. Did u know TEXAS is a bigger country then the Dominican Republic? and that is only one you have 49 more countries in the USA. Each state is ran like its own country, this is commen sense if you are an american. Of course you are going to have MORE murders and crime in the USA, 10 million in DR, half billion in the USA. The comment about our school shootings has NOTHING to do with CRIME NOTHING, but you felt the need to bring some of Americas darkest hour why? To prove your point DR is a safe as the US. Let us narrow it down a little so you can see how wrong you are:
1. I read ALL DAY how people do not go out at night in Santo Domingo because they are afraid of being stop PN and criminals. I live in ONE of the most dangerous cities in the world and plenty of times when I can't sleep I go for a drive sometimes and midnight, 2A.M or 4A.M. and NOTHING ever happen to me I actually feel safer that time of day. Nobody here is AFRAID of CPD, they just do not LIKE them, now Santo Domingo there is a FEAR FACTOR regarding the National Police.
2. You can walk into any bank in LA, Atlanta, DC wherever, and use the ATM at 11 at night, NOBODY is inside holding a SHOTGUN!!! Why do they need to guard a ATM with a shotgun if it is not that bad?
Please read what you said happens where you live,donkeys, dominoes, and chatting, so if this is your lifestyle of course very little is going to happen to your, you could have did that in UTAH. Do not get it twisted Dominicans would much rather go to Walt Disney World, Six Flags, San Diego Zoo, Mall of America, Time Square, The Grand Cayon, Rodeo Drive if they could. Just think for one second, What type of person wants to sit drink beer, chat, play dominoes and on occasion visit those DEAD malls 365 days of the year. 80% of Dominicans will trade places with a American in a heartbeat.
You do KNOW the one thing corruption HATE is EXPOSURE, so most likey it will NOT be discuss over the dinner table.
While I'm sure there's a point to this, I don't see it. If I saw someone living beyond their means, it would be different, but most of the ones I know work hard, and again, some have several jobs and if they were taking graft, I doubt if this would be the case. I am not saying it doesn't exist, but I know quite a few Nacional Policia and among the dozens I know, I don't see the graft. I doubt if the corrupt ones would be invited to the dinner table.
A blanket indictment of all Dominican Police is unfair to the ones who work hard and take their job seriously, while possibly in the minority, they still exist and there's quite a few honest ones out there who have pride in their jobs.
Not everyone in the world is crooked and corrupt.
We are not talking about LAPD, NYPD, CPD, but the National Police in the DR give me ONE positive thing about the PN. Don't get me wrong I am not blaming them BECAUSE they are SHEEP. I blame the government which is the cause, and the corrupt police is just the effect. You are Dominican right? Do you really believe the PN of Santo Domingo really police that city? One thing I will say about the PN they do ENJOY killing people that I will say.
No, I'm not Dominican, but have lived off an on in the country for about 5 years. I wont comment on the rest, because each person is entitled to their opinion. I'm from Detroit by the way, and have seen far worse corruption and much more murder than I have seen here. More people are murdered in Detroit in a year than in the entire Dominican Republic, but that's neither here nor there. Again, not everyone is corrupt. I have had the PN help me on occasion, and on one occasion when my home in Santiago was broken into, they retrieved most of my property without me having to grease their palms.
A lot of it is perceived attitude and people can smell one a mile away. If you approach them with the attitude that because you're a foreigner, you're superior to them, you will be treated with disdain and possibly worse. Again, the average PN foot soldier earn about 3,000 pesos a month, what many of earn in half a day or an hours work.
As far as the average PN enjoying killing, that remains to be seen, I think there's a lot of conjecture here.
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I also know many PN and there are many in my wifes family and by far the majority are SUPER corrupt. I know a guy whose job it is to straight up kill people.
and yet the current party (PLD)candidate is leading in the Polls? I guess this country wants 8 more years of the same. A country gets the Government they deserve.