costa rica tourist information
Is costa rica Government doing something…?
to STOP THE RISING CRIME AND INSECURITY?
This note is from a local newspaper, (of course only in spanish, so the tourist won’t know about it), and keep going to in-danger their Life.
Here is the link: http://www.aldia.cr/ad_ee/2009/abril/29/nacionales1949136.html
TRANSLATION:
A North American – was wounded from three gun shoots, during the assault in his house located in beach Creeks, 25 kilometers of the center of Carmona city, head of the corner of Nandyure, GUANACASTE. On the attackers clearly information is not known (no police around) , the suspects broke in his house, and surprised the foreigner and, after hurting him, left the house with not known course. NOBODY SAW NOTHING. (OF COURSE)
The foreigner received two shots in arms and one in the abdomen. Units of the Red Cross of transferred it to Nandayure to the hospital of the Annexation in Nicoya.
It is trying to do something but the approach the government is taking will not get immediate results. It has passed some laws and is passing other to make it easier to detain and jail people, especially immigrants.
But its real efforts are long term, trying to ease or eliminate the main cause of crime which is thought to be poverty, ignorance and lack of opportunity. The tougher criminal laws are aimed at the few criminals who chose crime, not forced into it. This is part of the right approach.
What you see as a vicious crime wave is partly a real increase in crime as C.R. continues to lose its middle class base. But mostly it is the odd violent crime being over-reported.
C.R. traditionally has been a non violent, low crime area (the police went unarmed into the 1980s) with most people living well without debts in their own houses. Costa Ricans perceiveany violence as far worse than most other people in the world.
Foreigners make easy targets, easy to spot and it is a reasonable assumption, even if not always true, that they are worth the effort of robbing. Right now the risk of being punished for rbbing people is close to nil but the government is making the attempt to make crime a little harder. This is also a part of the correct approach.
But the genral trend this government and previous governments have followed are breaking down the traditional culture and crime here will eventually reach the levels and violence ot the cultures these governments are choosing to imitate. It’s part of the package.
Hotel Giada – Samara, Costa Rica – Beach, Playa