Community Meets with Police for Crime Solutions

The local Neighborhood Watch meeting held at La Ruina bar in Gorgona, brought out a strong presence from the police – in part to Don Winner of Panama-Guide.com spreading the word to the press and inviting officials to attend. The Gorgona Watch meeting is run by Jim Rizik who runs the program through Panama’s Vecinos Vigilantes project. The meeting was attended by over 100 residents and business owners concerned about escalating crime in the beach neighborhoods. Reporters from TVN and La Prensa were also there to cover the event. The meeting was run in an orderly manner, with both Police and residents taking turns to speak. Don Winner of Panama-Guide.com translated. With regard to the recent robbery of Rancho Los Toros, the police said the investigation is about 80% advanced and they are very close to an arrest.

 

Various members of the Police spoke to different matters. I will summarize some of the important things that were said.

  • -       People from the US, Canada and other countries have a sense of safety and confidence that is not common in Panama.
  • -       Problems can occur due to misunderstandings in cultural differences.
  • -       Expats tend to put a lot of trust in people who work for them. There have been cases where trust was breached by employees have been given complete access to property and personal information, including bank accounts.
  • -       Don’t carry large sums of money around you. Take out small amounts.
  • -       The police are working to help you, help us by increasing your security consciousness.
  • -       Don’t bring strangers home.
  • -       Know the number of the Police station closest to you.
  • -       A problem Police have is that they have to get permission to enter some resort and development area. This reduces their response time. The Police asked people who live in resort areas to encourage developers to allow them blanket permission to enter and investigate when called.
  • -       When you report a crime, follow through with the reporting procedures.

One thing is clear, is that reporting a crime and following it through is not as straightforward as it might be in other countries. There are several levels of authority, which cases get passed through. Also, different areas will have different steps for reporting. A large portion of the reporting process falls on the victim. If crimes are not reported properly, they do not get logged and investigations do not happen. It is possible that recent crimes were not properly reported.

A notable point is that the police who respond to the crime are not necessarily responsible for taking a report. Victims need to report directly to the DIJ, who investigate crimes. After 90 days, cases gets passed to the Public Ministry or the Prosecutorial Department who will continue to investigate. The reporting process is the same for Panamanians and foreigners.

Another point is that Panama is attempting to reform the system of justice from an Inquisitoral System to an Accusatory System. At the moment both systems are in play. The Accusatory system is in use in Veraguas and Cocle. Depending on where a crime is reported, reporting procedures could differ, as well as the application of the law.

The Police spoke about a youth training program that originated in El Salvador, which is being used by Police departments in other countries and is active in Panama. The program reaches teenagers and trains them to resist enrollment in gangs. The Police feel this program has a long term effect towards preventing crime.

A question was asked with regards to the use of a gun for the sake of defense: The use of a licensed gun in the defense of your life is not against the law. However all shooting deaths are investigated.

The Police committed to increasing patrols and police presence in the beaches area. Commisioner Domingo Espitia said he would seek approval for additional English speaking officers in the area, and publicize them as the first line of contact in cases of crime. At the moment there is one English speaking officer in the Coronado area. His name is Francis.

Police Commisioners gave out their personal cell phone numbers:

Police Commisioner of Cocle, Miguel Avila 6074-7157

Police Commusioner of Panama, Domingo Espitia 6074-4414

Francis (English speaking Police office in Coronado 6913-4199

National Police - 253-5555
Gorgona - 240-6033
Coronado - 240-4222