Expat Community > Panama

panamajames
Joined 2012
Posts: 5097

Chiriqui Crime Rate is up

11 years ago

TOGETHER WE CAN HELP PREVENT CRIME

The crime rate is up in the Chiriqui Highlands. The trend is now armed home invasions. This year (2013) in Boquete, there have been 114 cases of thefts and robberies reported in the first six months of the year breaking all records. Please remember that crime statistics show that no home invasion has ever been stopped simply by a phone call or an air horn blast. Here is an update of 3 recent crimes.

1. Assaulted by close neighbors they knew and had helped many times! A retired man found his wife had been choked and lay unconscious during a home invasion that had occurred at noontime. He had gone out to talk with the neighbor who was at his front gate as a decoy. Two of the older teens (brothers) came in and went through the unlocked front door the husband accidently left open during his conversation with the man at the gate.

Alto Al Crimen of Boquete had been called. They and others called the police. The police came. Within the week all the stolen items were returned to the couple. The police did a great job! They caught the neighbors 3 sons and the oldest son was put in jail.

These people did everything right! They had lights, an alarm system, gates, fences and a special buzz alarm! Their only problem was they knew and helped their neighbors. The victims gave their neighbors free electricity via an extension cord over the fence.

2. A home was broken into at 4:00 am in Paso Ancho and the intruders were repelled by a strong Englishman resident who fought the intruders off in a hand to hand combat incident on a narrow spiral stair case. The Englishman was a former combat solder and is now a professional Captain of a charter sailboat. How many of us are in good enough physical condition to accomplish this feat?

Out of all the home invasions of the last 1 ½ years, only two home owners have not been assaulted. One was a professional military person who fought the criminals off and the other home owner legally owned a gun and shot through the closed door of the room he was in. Their large dogs were killed while trying to protect their owners.

3. The owner of the Bib Best Telephone Store in Volcan at 7:30 pm was robbed with the threat of a knife to her throat as she was walking home after getting off the bus. She was left with a bloody scab on her neck, happy to be alive.

We, as a potential crime victim, must then do all we can do to prevent the crime in the first place. Don’t be a victim! Those who fail to plan – plan to fail!

$32,850 per year hires a certified uniformed security guard, 24 hours per day, 7 days per week to exclusively guard your home against a home invasion. This service is advisable for residents of homes that desire safety but are uncomfortable with owning or handling firearms.

In February 2013, Volcan Town Meeting’s speaker, the famous Jorge Barazza Osorios, mentioned obtaining a Panama concealed and carry gun register permit and how to do so legally.

Our September Town Hall Meeting will be on crime prevention. There are many things we can do and we will have local people from our community who will be at the meeting to help us. In the meantime, here is some helpful information.

The most common time for home invasions is between 7:00 pm and 8:00 pm as is 1:00 am in the early morning. The safest times are between 4:00am to 12:00 noon probably because thieves like to sleep in late.

Always be alert and do not be lazy or forgetful about locking doors, windows or turning on alarms or lights. Over-confidence, thinking “it cannot happen to me” is what thieves count on.

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Chiriqui Crime Rate is up

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