Looks like it's been a pretty bad weekend in Puerto Plata, came across the article below on DR news site translated it with Google so not totally good English but you get the idea...
Well, we all know crime is getting worse here, but this really looks quite horrendous ,10 armed robberies and 3 attacks on tourists within 48 hours is pretty serious for a place size of PP,
I sure hope it doesn't come this way!
Seems they even commit violent crimes in broad daylight now and don't seem afraid of the police at all...
Reckon the powers to be better get a grip on this or tourists are going to start staying away.
If this goes on we will need Bulletproof Vests on our visits to Sirena :-)
==================
PUERTO PLATA Fear has gripped residents in this city of Puerto Plata because in the past 48 hours there have been more than ten armed robberies on defenseless citizens and three foreigners, which validates the growth of criminal acts in this part of the Dominican Republic.
Irrefutable proof of the great wave of thefts and robberies that shook Puerto Plata, was the fact when unknown persons armed to the teeth, at gunpoint, kidnapped and robbed of a large sum of cash to a messenger from a local pharmacy when walking Calle San Felipe, kidnapped in car which was left abandoned in the town of Imbert.
The citizen Humberto Padilla who is the messenger of the consortium's Pharmacy was gunpoint by unknown assailants menacingly put him sharply in an automobile was kidnapped and then was stripped of about 300,000 pesos.
Similarly, last night two men robbed at gunpoint a motorcycle and a wallet to a motoconchista at the entrance to the San Marcos community, but minutes before two other criminals who across from the University O & M attacked the young nurse Juana Family, which they fired several shots to snatch her purse and cell phone.
Given these destructive actions, the National Police has implemented desperately operating in sectors of the bottom of Puerto Plata, mostly in the Eixample Dubeau (The Alley), La Playa Viara and West where there was heavy gunfire as police units were met with a hail of bottles and stones so the agents had to repel aggression with tear gas and shots into the air.
Bad weekend in PP
Where was this article taken from please?
>planner
>Where was this article taken from please?
Here the link
http://www.detrasdelrumor.com.do/crece- … y-asaltos/
and just seen another couple of posts, with one guy lucky to survive after being stabbed with broken bottle
Mmmhh never thought it would get this bad here!
Well I had the experience getting robbed few months ago on the Malecon in PP if you recall...but now seems it getting out of control.
1 .
On Wednesday approximately 6pm in puerto plata there was two guys on the malecon, one walking and one driving a Moto. The one walking got next to my friend and tried to yank his chain off his neck. He made the mistake of grabbing his shirt with it. When he did that my friend tried to grab him and he turned around and punched him in the face causing 9 stitches over his eye. The guy started to run towards me and my friends wife and he ran between me and the wall so my instinct was to punch him in the face, knocking him down. My friend tried to grab him but he tripped and was able to get away with just a small piece of the chain.
The next day a family was in the same spot and they were robbed. I don't have much of the details but I know that they made away with a phone. So please be careful near the la serina area.
We weren't able to get a good description of the suspects as everything happened so fast.
2
Caution - Caution - Caution
Be very careful in your movements on the street at night. My son arrived Thursday noon on vacation and came out with friends after dinner to see the hockey game Canadians. In his way back to home he was waiting to catch a moto concho. He has been attacked by two Dominicans guys. One searched his pockets and stole his iPhone and his money while the other one snatched chain neck and giving him a shot with a broken beer bottle. He was hit in the heart level. If the weapon was a knife, he surely would have had little chance to survive. Fortunately, he is now ok but this event will stay in his mind for the rest of his life.
We ask the help of the police Cestur instead of sitting around dozens of them at Kahuna Bar to check the prostitutes, they could patrol the obcures street parties especially between barrio blanco and the "Play of Cabarete". The event took place shortly after the police station under construction. Please Raquel Sierra made an effort to get the street have a better lightning without dark areas. It is a must for the safety of everyone.
Not sure that is a recognized news "source" or someone with an agenda running a site. I need to do more research on this.
I've not read about things being this bad on the north coast. Again, research is needed here.
When you find a good news, please feel free to share.
Also this site doesn't look too reliable. It looks like cheap gossip.
Guys this site is real.....I know it well. The presenter is an attorney and local journalist. He has a weekly program and is a serious individual. I personally know his assistant, and the stories are accurate. He does not print anything without checking the facts. The site is real. This is not some teenager running this site. He mainly reports on local news relating to Puerto Plata. The guy is on point. The story is accurate, boots on the grounds have confirmed the story, This gentleman just reported today on the Huelga of Cabarete. Semana Santa looks bleak in Cabarete if the can't come to an agreement soon over the locals getting a chance to set up their kiosks on the beach alongside the restauranteurs. 
It is a real site that focuses on the negative and posts photos of "shock" value. Yes there has been an uptick of crime very little involving the tourist trade. Seems we go though cycles of this just as happens in any town or city in the world.
We still use our usual precautions and have not curtailed our outings at all.
Bob K
Yeah although the news from PP looked bad, guess when put into perspective compared to other places, it is not as bad as it looks...although the people who suffered these attacks may have a different view ... again think its largely down to luck, wrong place at wrong time,etc
But all the same looking at what is happening of late, one should be more careful these days and be prepared.
Guess that is why the Crimestoppers site was started, there is obviously a need for it.
Yes a need for Crime stoppers. But I still think I am safer here than living back in Denver or the New York area.
Bob K
Can't speak for Denver Nob, but NYC is one of the safest cities in the U.S. The police protection offered in New York eclipses DR.......the only problem we have here is terrorism 
Oh you have more problems then terrorism my friend.
Bob K
Lets agree crime is pretty much everywhere. I've not read in any other publication online or in print about a "SURGE" in crime on the north coast or anywhere else here for that matter. That is why I questioned the source.
Lets focus on prevention and staying safe.
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