Progress Made in Cleaning Up Crime in Panama's Playa Communities

From Ricardo Martinelli's office to Salomón Shamah, the Minster of Tourism, all levels of Government are aware and interested in cleaning up the criminal element at the beaches. That was the message brought to the meeting at Rancho Los Toros, on June 6, 2013. There was a strong show of support from the expat beach community with over 120 concerned residents showing up. A number of things came out of the meeting - this article will attempt to sum it all up. Feedback from Police and GovernmentThere was a strong show of support from Government and Police. Cynthia Meneses, Commissioner of the Tourist Police in Panama said that they are aware that San Carlos and the surrounding areas are becoming a hot spot for tourism. Her office plans to provide cars with Tourist Police to patrol the area.

Police Commisioner Domingo Espitia advised that additional patrol cars have been provided to increase the presence of police in the area. Police have also been learning English to bridge the gap between English speaking foreign residents and local police officers.

Marcelino Agilar, Fiscal Auxiliary advised that he has assigned 2 new prosecutors to the areas of Chame and San Carlos. These 2 offices will be opening in the next few months. Having these will speed up the processing of crimes in the beach areas.

The increase in vehicles will help the Police in the area. Up to now, there have been only 2 vehicles patrolling the areas from Punta Chame to Rio Hato. Due to the workload, Police are not able to respond quickly to emergency calls.

Arrests Have Been Made

Marcelino Agilar, Fiscal Auxiliary (Deputy Attorney General), prosecutes organized crime in Panama. Sr. Marcelino announced that arrests have been made. A lead from a cell phone led detectives to pick up one of the criminals responsible for the Rancho Los Toros case. That arrest produced other leads, that eventually led to the arrest of the person in charge of the crimes happening in the beach areas. Mr. Agilar's announcement was met with loud applause from the community.

Alto al Crimen at the Pacific Beaches

The recent Rancho Los Toros robbery led Rob Brown (a.k.a Roberto Chocolate) to resurrect a community group called 'Neighbors Helping Neighbors' (NHN). The group was initially formed as a way to help expat victims of crime understand and work through the Panamanian bureaucracy required to file a police reports and follow up with DIJ and Prosecutors. NHN had some success with a robbery of Ty's Sports Bar in El Valle, where someone had broke in and stole $1000 from the cash register. Rob Brown abandoned that group due to continued lack of community support from the community. However, with the recent rash of violent robberies sweeping the beach area, the time for a community effort in conjunction with the police may now be right.

With the help of Alto Al Crimen, a community based organization out of Boquete, Rob Brown plans to launch an organization here at the beaches, to ensure criminals not only get arrested, but also convicted. The organization, which is looking to launch under a new name, will provide an emergency hotline and it's own private detective and legal service.

Alto al Crimen was formed in Boquete by a group of concerned residents wanting to address the issue of rising expat-associated crime in the area. The organization uses it's own private detective to identify criminals, then presses their own criminal charges against the individuals. In doing that, they have the ability to look at evidence collected and the gain the right to collect their own evidence. Lawyers are then able to follow-up with the case, and keep the community abreast of what is going on. Mark Heyer from Alto al Crimen announced that the group had lowered the crime rate in Boquete by 90%.

On Going Crime Prevention

All groups present agree that crime prevention begins at home. People need to take safety measures and precautions. Vecino Vigilantes (Neighborhood Watch) Gorgona were on hand to talk about crime prevention. The groups works in conjunction with the Police to execute security measures. Jim Rizik and Perry McMullin, both former law enforcement officers will do a free security check on your home. They also offer Neighbor Hood watch signs for streets and houses. The signs are a deterrent to criminals, who see the signs as a symbol of a street / neighborhood / community working together to stay aware and report unusual activity.

Money Raised

When the second Ranchos Los Toros burglary took place, a detective from Altos al Crimen travelled from Boquete and began investigations in the area. Rob Brown put out a call for funds to raise money to support the investigation and for private legal assistance to prosecute. An estimated $6000 was required to keep the efforts ongoing. The meeting at Rancho Los Toros brought in the funds needed to get started.

Also on sale at the event was 'Ranchos Bonds'. A $20 pre-paid meal certificate which returns $25 in service from Rancho Los Toros. Over $900 in Rancho Bonds were sold that evening.

Rancho Los Toros

The Ranch will be open for business as usual. Joe extended a personal thanks to the community who showed up and supported the efforts. He advised that going forward there will be off-duty armed police to patrol the area from 8pm to 4am, every night. Joe is working for furthering security measures with more security and lights. Rancho Los Toros will be doing another Wine Dinner on June 15th.

Contacts:

Rob Brown
http://www.retirementdetectives.com/

Mark Heyes - Alto al Crimen
http://www.altoalcrimen.org/

Free Home Security Checks
Vecino Vigilantes Signs
Jim Rizik: 6590-3308
jwr2001@msn.com