Is it Safe to Live on Panama's Pacific Coast?

(This is an editorial or opinion by Jamuna Burry) When I first came to Panama, I believed everything was perfect: The experience, the culture, the people, yes and even the crime felt like an acceptable balance between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’. Back then, it was easier to look at the positive side of things. After all, I wanted this big and expensive move to work out and I did not want anything to upset my perception of life in paradise. Today, ten years later, the idea of the tropical paradise is no longer. The reason? The essential human need for personal safety is not being adequately met.   When expats are arming themselves and learning how to shoot. When more and more homeowners are installing video security systems, or are hiring gun carrying night guards – the bubble of an idyllic lifestyle here on Panama’s Pacific coast, has been properly popped.

In the last few weeks, I had the opportunity to talk to a number of people about crime and how it affects them. I spoke to expats and Panamanians who live in the city and in the beach area. I spoke to victims of crime and also to people involved in criminal investigations.

There is an interesting phenomenon that happens in the expat community around victims of violent crime. People want to believe that the victim did something to attract the ‘bad karma’. I have heard people say, “Well that happened because the victim did ‘this thing’.” It seems that such a statement allows the rest of us to feel safer in the illusion that we are good people and that violent crime won’t affect us. The idea is easier to live with than the thought of gangs trolling the neighborhoods searching for targets.
 
The fact is, crime does affect good people, and here in Panama it is creating black holes in the picture of the perfect paradise that all those in cold countries are aspiring towards.
 
In the ten years of living in Panama, there have been an unsettling amount of violent crimes where I personally know the victim or have a degree of separation from them. There have been robberies, beatings, gunshot wounds, home invasions, and even murder. People have been robbed on beaches, tied up and terrorized. In one occasion, a gun was held to the head of a child. Criminals have been bold enough to walk in and rob restaurant patrons and owners during daylight hours.
 
Here at the beaches, we hear about the crimes. We don’t hear much about cases being solved. When criminals are caught, they inevitably walk away to offend again.
 
In talking to people about crime, I have heard reluctance from Panamanians to give personal information to the police, as if it was being handed over to the criminals themselves. A convenience store owner laughs when she is asked why she doesn’t report a robbery. “What are the police going to do?” she says. Instead, she does business through a barred counter and door.

In the expat community, there is a general suspicion and distrust that looms. People are afraid to let their employees know too much about them, or give them keys to their place. People photograph construction workers down the road, and survey the parking lot before leaving the grocery store. For some, there comes a point in all that, when it becomes hard to trust people around you, for fear that they will sell you out.
 
Let me be clear. Being conscious about safety is a fact of life in Panama. The problem arises when it is hard to tell the difference between feeling safe and living in fear.
 
We might not feel so unsafe, if we could see some hard results from the authorities. But from where I’m standing not much seems to be happening in the area of taking criminals off the streets.

From what I can see, the justice system does not support the victim of crime. To begin with, emergency phone numbers are often not answered or busy. Then, the process of reporting a crime to the authorities is complex.  Finally it appears, that the only way evidence is gathered in criminal proceedings, is when the victim hires their own private detective and presents the findings to the authorities. Even then, there is no reason to believe criminals will be punished. Victims speak of criminals being interrogated with non-relevant questions that result in release. I have heard of evidence getting lost, or not being protected or processed properly.

If bungling prosecutorial systems are not enough, minors committing crimes add another level that renders the Panamanian Justice system useless. Minors are generally given a free pass. If the child does not have proper parental supervision, he or she will walk out of questioning and right back to gang tutelage.
 
Within local communities, people are well aware of who the criminals are and what they are doing. A local farmer told me, even the police are aware. He spoke of how he had to send his son away from the area to save him from being harassed to join gangs. He told me that locals don’t report crimes because criminals don’t to go jail - however, they do retaliate.
 
When a violent crime touches the expat community, the police generally respond by showing up at a community meeting. They bring Chiefs and Heads of Departments, and present quite an impressive front. They give presentations about criminals arrested and systems they hope to put in place. However, if you ask a number of victims if their crime has been resolved, you will hear them talk about complications and blunders made by the justice system, minors getting off and how the ringleaders are still at large.
 
I have come to the conclusion that the justice system in Panama is broken, disempowered or corrupt from the inside. Whatever it is, it works in favor of the criminal. As long as that is the case, Panama is not safe. If violent criminals remain at large and the justice system continues to look the other way, this up and coming nation will tail spin into a ghetto. Panamanians and foreigners will gradually find other places to live and do business safely.
 
On May 5th, Panama elected a new President and we will soon see a new administration. I hold out hope that ineffective people and systems will be removed for safer outcomes. I believe a justice system that works is possible. If we believed justice could be done, individuals would be more willing to report crimes. I know things won’t happen tomorrow and I know that changing organizational culture is a slow moving train. However, with a destination in mind, Panamanian, Expat, Police and Prosecutor can work towards cleaning up the criminal element. Panama has already demonstrated that it can make radical change in short time. The Cinta Costera and the Metro system are proof of that. I do believe Panama can be safe, however, today is not that day. We have already had many conversations about the issue. Now we need results.