there is a big difference between "crime stats" and intentional homicide rates. the fact that a particular segment of crime is alarming is not equivalent to saying the society in general is lawless. lawlessness is a composite of several dynamics.
- Thread starter Matilda
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Dominican Republic 7th most lawless place in the world
there is a big difference between "crime stats" and intentional homicide rates. the fact that a particular segment of crime is alarming is not equivalent to saying the society in general is lawless. lawlessness is a composite of several dynamics.
"Chivos sin ley"
Those 'dynamics' are certainly found here.
The country is not lawless, as laws do exist and are just as good as any country's.
The population, however, in their majority behaves lawlessly (because they can).
They have an expression for it: "Chivos sin ley".
Isn't it almost like "free as a bird"..... ??? :classic:
donP
Those 'dynamics' are certainly found here.
The country is not lawless, as laws do exist and are just as good as any country's.
The population, however, in their majority behaves lawlessly (because they can).
They have an expression for it: "Chivos sin ley".
Isn't it almost like "free as a bird"..... ??? :classic:
donP
that is exactly what i am trying to say. the fact that a small segment of the population is involved in gang violence, or drug reprisals, does not mean that the society is lawless. there are more things to consider, not the least of which is the presence of a functioning judiciary, and attendant rulings. when a senator goes to jail for statutory rape, and he goes right from jail back to his senate seat, that is lawlessness. when you can buy your way out of murder convictions, that is lawlessness. when many of the members of the political directorate are sleeping with underage girls, with very few legal interventions, that is lawless. when every single day greets us with yet one more scandal in which politicians have stolen massive amounts of public monies, and only a handful ever go before a judge, that is lawless. when you have the highest vehicular homicide rate on earth, and zero road traffic law enforcement, that is lawless. in the same vein, when a large percentage of people driving on the roads have bought their licenses, and are driving around in vehicles that have no business being on a public highway or byway, that is lawlessness. political or gang rivals killing each other is not the only meaningful dynamic, especially when they are not turning their attentions towards the general populace.
Laws are meaningless if they are not enforced, or if the courts, lawyers and police can be bought. Prosecutors too. Hell, Balaguer could be bought Don't know about the current president.
Think about it--in 1989 any blue-eyed Mafioso or former KGB could escape to the DR with suitcases full of money. They bought themselves a tropical island paradise. They joined the Italian mafiosi who Castro kicked out of Cuba in the 1950s.
Everyone wants a piece of Paradise, but some have a lot more dinero than others.
Think about it--in 1989 any blue-eyed Mafioso or former KGB could escape to the DR with suitcases full of money. They bought themselves a tropical island paradise. They joined the Italian mafiosi who Castro kicked out of Cuba in the 1950s.
Everyone wants a piece of Paradise, but some have a lot more dinero than others.
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"Crime stats" are contributing factor to the overall equation. Can you please share with all of us on this forum the "dynamics" of "lawlessness". Judging from your previous post, you must have extensive and detailed knowledge about this topic.
one does not need "extensive and detailed knowledge" in order to make rational arguments. logic is logic; nothing more, nothing less.
simple question; if 500 guys die at the hands of murderers in a certain period of time, and 450 are brought to justice and sent to jail for life, is that any more lawless than if 100 guys commit murder, and 95 pay their way out of jail?
crime stats only provide half the picture. they do not describe what happens after the crime is committed, and that has to be factored into the equation.
1 no parking ticket if you stop in the middle of the road for 5 minutes to go into a store to buy something for 5 minutesIt s that time of year with bogus ranking. Let's see (slow day)
5-South Africa
6-Chad
7-DR
8-Honduras
.....
The winner is Iraq.
2 no 300$ towing if you park your tiny scooter in a residential area in front of someone's house for a night
3 no fine if you have a open beer on the passenger seat
4 no fine when you have a open beer on the driver seat and it is not your first bottle
5 the cops stop you and you have your papers not in order and they let you go for a 50 pesos bribe, it doesn?'t cost a 100$ and takes all day
6 once accidentally speeding doesn't cost you youR license and a 250$ fine
AWARE this place is bad and lawless and really sucks!!!!!!!!
Have to agree. My house was invaded 3 times. The first 2 were on the same night. They stole the inverter and batteries whilst throwing stones at me. The 2nd time, I received broken ribs after being tied up and the masked men held a gun to my wife's head whilst they stole loads of money and jewellery. Police caught no one. Why? Because they did nothing to investigate the crime. No finger prints etc. In addition, I was robbed and defrauded by at least 4 lawyers and the so called law society did nothing, they were as disinterested as the police. I know another lawyer who was involved in a small car accident and he shot the other guy. He is still a lawyer and walking the streets as is his client who once operated a bar on the Malecon in PP who was in collision with a motorcyclist near the free trade Zone and he also shot the guy on the moto. Result ? Nothing, he is still walking the streets. Lawless Country. To my mind certainly one of the worst. My Wife cannot believe how safe it is here where we now live and how active the Police are in catching criminals.
Matilda, you can't win today. Post a positive article, post a negative article, they'll jump all over you either way.
I don't think anyone is getting all over Matilda but the ridiculous article instead. Any of us that actually have lived here for a while I sure would concede that the level of violence has increased (like many places around the globe) but to be on this list is just plain stupid, the article not you Matilda..
There is an old Spanish saying that sort of sums up the tradition in many Hispanic countries, including the DR.
"Se obedece, pero no se cumple."
(One obeys, but does not comply)
"Se obedece, pero no se cumple."
(One obeys, but does not comply)
The entire world is becoming dangerous. What seems to be funny about this article is that some of these other countries are at war. Dominican Republic is not at war. When you travel you have to use common sense. Do not wear jewelry or show off your IPhone6 or GalaxyS5. Do not flash money or walk at night in bad areas... DR is a great place to have fun, just be careful...
im not sure if i agree with all but i think that the d.r. is still wide open... people hiding from other countries...thiefs working a specific area that dont get caught or stopped... drunks running around with pistolas...and of course you have the occasionally armed gringo....who actually im not worried about him...I dont think they carry live ammo(illegal) or guns ....but army training has them with at least two or three weapons... a baton is a favorite.or a billy , smaller, for city work.....and a knife is like a wallet...(not leaving home without it...)
I live this place (DR1), a place for us Anglos/Gringos to gossip and pass info around. As I've only been here for a few months, my own life experience here is...limited. However, I haven't SEEN any overt examples of criminality, so I feel relatively safe here. However, I've had RD friends warn me of crime, so I imagine that one can find crime, or crime CAN find people.