Safety in Costa Rica

The crime rate in Costa Rica is increasing,which is expected in a country where the economy continues to deteriorate, and the massive import taxes on merchandise continues to climb.  Many Costa Rican's are experiencing severe financial pressure, and some have resulted to crime.  This link explains the situation.
http://www.ticotimes.net/2015/02/17/cos … j-director

Hi neighbors,

We have lived in Playa Hermosa, Guanacaste for the past dozen years and four years ago we bought a quinta near Lago Arenal.  We feel safe to take long walks during the day in either place.  At night, we do lock ourselves in to prevent any surprise intrusions.  I am licensed to carry weapons, and we are legally armed in case we need to defend our "castle".  At the quinta, we have four large dogs, one a pitbull, one a trained shepard and the two others are mid-sized but good watch dogs.  At the beach house we have adjacent neighbors with two dogs.  Since the dogs have become part of the equation, we have had no problems.  Love those pups!

Would we live somewhere else?  We were in Greece last year and loved it.  To visit, yes, to live the rest of your life there, a resonding, "No".  Chile is nice but a long way away from all we know.  New Zealand, the same but even further away.  Mexico..........now that El Chapo is on the loose, not on your life or mine either.

So here we are, enjoying it every lovely day in the land of pura vida.

Hi Tico Tom - You should get an award for lasting ten years, keep up the good work.

Costa Rica is as safe as walking through any ghetto late at night. Without a knife or gun hidden on your body you are not safe, The police are stupid and unable to protect you anywhere! The culture here allows thief's to feel as though stealing is accepted. I have had my possessions stolen over ten times in the 10 years I have lived here. If you leave something out in the open, it will be stolen by the next Tico, or Tica, that wanders close enough to grab it! Don't go out at night unless you are armed, with someone else, or are looking for trouble yourself. It is not safe here, anywhere in the country. You must learn to protect yourself because no one else will.

We have lived in Atenas for three years. We find the community very safe. We can walk the half mile to town at night along a street-lit road with confidence and traverse the entire downtown area with certainty that we will not be attacked or molested in any way. This community has a relatively large police present that is very visible in the downtown area.
Minor crime: theft of personal property and burgular activity still is an ongoing problem. Our landlord, of a founding family here in Atenas, recently installed several A/C units on the roof for us. To my surprise, they also installed sturdy, metal cages around each unit to keep them  from being easily stolen --- something that is almost never seen in the US or Canada. Smash and grab theft from parked vehicles is also an ongoing problem, especially at the coast and pick pocket theft of passports, especially at the airports is also an ongoing issue, with a US or Canadian passport going for $10-15,000. Minor theft, under $500 is not even worthy of a report by the police.

del12k. Same thing in new York, LA, London or Bogota. But most CR cities are much, much  safer than the big cities around the world. If you ask me if Colombia is safe, I'd say I had never been mugged nor kidnapped but I have an uncle that was kidnapped three times as well as many friends. But I still travel Colombia. Same for NY, I have never been mugged there but know people who had. So everyone speak for himself. resuming, I walk and travel all CR, with my small daughters and I am not looking behind my back. And I go out at night with my wife and I am not worrying if we are going to be  victims. Sure, do not give the bad people opportunity, stay away from trouble spots. Costa Rica is Pura Vida, let's keep the saying alive.

Yes I have lived in Costa Rica for over two years and been out late at night in Puerto Viejo , a very beautiful beach town on the Caribbean that is known to be dangerous,for 9 months drinking in bars etc and never had a problem but my house was robbed twice by a neighbor who had a friend rob me after we had a dispute and he tried to attack me in my yard. Other then that problem with my rasta criminal neighbor I have never had a problem with crime in costa rica and I have also lived in Turrialba for 4 months and Alajuela for 9 months and travelled extensively around all of central America. Oh yeah also I was assaulted by a rasta man in bocas del toros panama after he rented me a bicycle which was stolen and he wanted me to pay for it and I refused.He kicked me in the chest and I had him arrested but declined to press charges. Also in Lake Atitlan Guatemala  area a drunk Irish tourist squeezed my head in a bar in San Pedro and I declined to kick his ass but 5 other guys did beat him up an hour later when he staggered over to another bar.

First of all, aside from night time in San Jose', I think "personal safety" is much more of a problem in many areas of the USA than in Costa Rica. I see women and men walking alone in deserted streets and roads quite often in  the San Ramon area and one seldom hears of rape or assault outside of San Jose and one or two other hot spots of crime in Costa Rica. Yes it exists. It is not entirely uncommon for some humans to tend towards criminal activity, especially when poor.

I feel very safe walking around San Ramon at night. But I wouldn't walk around late at night, drunk, looking "rich" with a bankroll in my wallet! And if I were to find myself drunk at night there, I would get my act together and walk quickly to my car, maybe ask a friend to accompany me.

I knew a guy who was elderly and liked to drink in a bar in San Ramon at night then stagger to his hotel/home. He looked rich, was rich, yet never got mugged. I was actually surprised he never got mugged  because that kind of behavior is "asking for it" imho.

The biggest problem in Costa Rica (outside of San Jose') is burglary. It happens to many gringo homes and for this reason one must have security in place. What that means to you depends in part on where you live, what you have, what your home looks like, and if you're an easy target in terms of location.

The most danger of robbery is if you live in a known gringo community and do not have enough security in place. I know people who live in such a location and they tried having a guard but one wasn't enough to cover all the area so while he was in one area the roving criminals would rob the other side of the large development at night during the fog etc. They really need 2-3 guards for such a large area. Also their area is such that it can be accessed from roads nearby where they do not see cars arriving/parking.

Now: On the other hand, I have known people who live on the beach with zero security, near a road, and no robberies. Why? Hard to say for sure but a lot of it has to do - I think - with their being a pillar of charity and goodness in the community, being friendly to the Ticos, helping the community etc. And not living in a home that looks like a mansion that is clearly visible from public roads.

Here's my approach to home security in Costa Rica:
A sign saying "I will shoot robbers" (en espanol)
Everything of high value inside the house locked down if possible - large screen tv bolted into the wall, etc.
When gone for more than a half a day, have someone watch the house, but lock up valuables in a "safe closet" reinforced with steel and nearly impossible to break into. Wire mesh (rebar) in walls of safe/closet, 2 ultra strong security locks on the steel door.

Run media (tv/videos/music) off a laptop which goes into the "safe" when not home.
Speakers bolted down and put them up in corners of the ceiling (harder to get to) via bluetooth.
Bolt down everything down that you can't easily put in the steel-reinforced safe when not at home.
Yes, if broken in, stuff like blankets, blender, cookware, sheets etc will probably get stolen. Anything they can use that isn't locked down.

This "lock down" type security is perhaps extreme and maybe not necessary depending on where one lives but I figure if I am going to live there permanently, why not spend some $ on security/safety? Plus I don't want bars on my windows so this may help avoid having to do that. Also lights that light up bright when they sense movement outside and a motion-detector sound alarm, maybe a sign that says "Attack Dog On Premises" (en español) too. Train your dog to attack intruders. Learn to shoot. (I would use buckshot only which hurts but doesn't kill.) (Guns as I understand it are illegal for residents but legal for citizens?) Not sure... But I bet a bow and arrow or a sling-shot is legal... ;-D

As for personal safety I know Costa Rica is much safer than MANY other countries in general, and very safe in most parts of the country.

But:

Don't walk around in fancy clothes with expensive looking jewelry. No jewelry is a good idea.
Don't leave stuff in your car and keep it locked with windows rolled up, preferably watched by someone trustworthy. Many areas do have guys watching cars, at least they do in San Ramon. Befriend them. Tip them well.
Don't walk around drunk at night.
Don't walk through or hang around dangerous areas at night. This might be just a bar where locals hang out on a quiet corner of town. Avoid that.
Carry pepper spray and have your hand on it ready to spray it.
Be aware of who's in front of you and behind you when walking. If you feel at all threatened run with pepper spray in hand.

Here's a comparison between San Jose Costa Rica and Los Angeles CA:
numbeo.com/crime/compare_cities.jsp?country1=United+States&country2=Costa+Rica&city1=Los+Angeles%2C+CA&city2=San+Jose

Pretty much the same.
Let me add here that I have lived in Los Angeles for 30 years and have never had one incident regarding crime nor personal safety in spite of the reputation  Los Angeles has for gangs and crime. I do not go where the crime is. San Jose' and other parts of  Costa Rica are the same in this regard. You will know not to go certain places nor do certain things and if you are at all careful and sensible you will likely not have any personal safety issues at all.

In terms of robbery, yes, you need to take precautions for your home security.

Rule of thumb: Don't be stupid.

Buckshot doesn't kill? Go ahead and shoot someone and find out.

Alcohol and other drugs consumption has a lot to do with violent crime or theft. Add to this that the police-judicial system protect drug addicts and violent criminals.

The Tico government hides from us the number of crimes in each town or village, police aren´t allowed to report those cases to the public.
My house got broken into, I lost my laptop, gps and a couple of other things.

rendrag wrote:

Buckshot doesn't kill? Go ahead and shoot someone and find out.

Well admittedly I am no expert but I had heard that there is a way to shoot buckshot so that it only stings and marks a person. I'll look into it, which of course I would do before using it in any case. Thanks for the heads up.

Samramon, and what about  the many Ticos that have very little and get burglarized or robbed on the streets? They are obviously not 'rich gringos' and their homes may be very basic or luxurious, but they are targeted more than expats.

Being a good member of the community does not give you immunity from thieves...believe me, I know.

Putting all the signs you intend to will do nothing but bring attention to your property.

And poisoning dogs is one of the most common means of gaining access.

kohlerias wrote:

Samramon, and what about  the many Ticos that have very little and get burglarized or robbed on the streets? They are obviously not 'rich gringos' and their homes may be very basic or luxurious, but they are targeted more than expats.

Being a good member of the community does not give you immunity from thieves...believe me, I know.

Putting all the signs you intend to will do nothing but bring attention to your property.

And poisoning dogs is one of the most common means of gaining access.

You make good points Kohlerias.
I don't know the stats but if you say many Ticos are also robbed, I'll defer to your expertise on the matter.

I do think gringos MAKE themselves a target by building luxurious homes, though I know some Ticos do too. Unfortunately with all the inflation, uneducated and unskilled immigrants, and lack of good paying jobs Costa Rica is becoming more crime ridden. That's just a fact. Combine that with an under-funded and/or under-trained police force and you have, well... a problem.

As to signs, the only signs I will put will be AT the home, not at the entrance or at the gate, but only AT the home; so only once they are there, to give them a 2nd thought. Maybe instead I should put a sign "Please don't rob us, we're poor like you and need our stuff."   

As long as they leave me with what I NEED, and don't hurt me or my loved ones, I'll manage to get by.
Like I keep saying, the USA is no picnic these days either. Never been robbed here but all the other shite that is going on makes it a place I want to escape.

Again I think burglary in large part depends on where and how one lives. Though surely I agree with you that being charitable and a pillar of the community doesn't exempt one from robbery. It may help but doesn't guarantee you won't get robbed.

All one can do is take precautions as one sees fit.
And hope for the best after that.
Things are things.
What counts is how one lives.

I have lived in Santa Ana for six months.  I know and am friends with several tico families.   All of my dealings to date with ticos are positive.  I have found them to be honest, fair and helpful.  Yes, there is opportunity theft, but so far, I have not experienced it.  When last in the states, I had security leave notes on my windowshield, telling me to hide items I left in the car.  Security left notes because young men were driving thru the parking lots looking for opportunity.  So to me the states are not any more protected from crime of opportunity than Costa Rica.   
As for violent crime, it is hard for me to imagine CR having more violent crime than the USA.   I feel safer here than in most large cities in the USA.

sporto505 wrote:

I have lived in Santa Ana for six months.  I know and am friends with several tico families.   All of my dealings to date with ticos are positive.  I have found them to be honest, fair and helpful.  Yes, there is opportunity theft, but so far, I have not experienced it.  When last in the states, I had security leave notes on my windowshield, telling me to hide items I left in the car.  Security left notes because young men were driving thru the parking lots looking for opportunity.  So to me the states are not any more protected from crime of opportunity than Costa Rica.   
As for violent crime, it is hard for me to imagine CR having more violent crime than the USA.   I feel safer here than in most large cities in the USA.

I agree and it depends on where you are.
San Jose over by the Coca Cola bus terminals... Um, not so safe... San Ramon downtown... very safe.
The same is true in Los Angeles area: Santa Monica Promenade - very safe... Los Angeles Greyhound Terminal - not so safe!

I feel the main difference is that in Costa RIca homes are broken into more than in most parts of the USA. But that again largely depends on WHERE in Costa Rica and WHERE in the USA.

Yes I agree. I just read about 70 teens doing a mob and rob in the states, we don't have such nonsense here in CR.

I have been to Costa Rica twice and one of those times I went by myself. I chartered my own transportation from  Heredia to Tamarindo. I felt totally safe but of course used caution. I didn't go out by myself at night and used common sense.