Thanks to all who made Ozzie's capture possible

Reply To:	Alto al Crimen <info@altoalcrimen.org>

by Caesar Sherrard

co-founder, Fundacion Alto al Crimen

"Evil triumphs when good men do nothing about it." 

 The capture of Ozzie is a victory for our entire community. As his stash is inspected, it is clear that he was responsible for probably 90% of the crime in Boquete since January 2011.  As a participating member of the Ozzie sting, I must explain that while Alto al Crimen has been associated with the hunt for Ozzie for some time,  his capture reveals a much deeper and more important aspect of our community development: Cooperation. 

The successful capture of Ozzie featured cooperation from at least 3 groups:

1. Ralf Henrich, founder of Boquete Consulting Security has the contract to protect Los Molinos (and Valle Escondido). When Ozzie stole a purse and valuables from a house in Los Molinos, Ralf took it personally. When Ozzie emailed the victim and proposed a ransom for her stolen valuables, Ralf masterminded the plan to create a sting operation and capture Ozzie. Over a period of weeks, posing as the victim's son, he lured Ozzie into the trap. Finally, it was agreed to meet Ozzie at the victim's house with $2000 cash in a briefcase. Putting on a bulletproof vest he went alone to meet Ozzie, who we suspected was armed. As it happens, Ozzie was captured in the vicinity, but Ralf is the Real Deal and we should all be incredibly proud that he is a member of our community. You can reach his security company at 6480-9413.        
2. The Boquete police, the DIJ and DIP - Ozzie planned the meeting with Ralf for Sunday, the time he thought least likely for the police to show up. As the hour approached, he changed the time, attempting to further decrease the possibility of police presence. Ozzie was wrong. Not only did  some twelve officers show up, but the Chief of the DIJ from David made a special trip to Boquete for the operation, on a Sunday night. These guys are frequently called out on missions like this, placing themselves in danger while earning very little and having meager equipment to work with. Despite these disadvantages, we have found them to be polite, friendly, slow to criticize or get angry and happy to cooperate. 
3. Alto al Crimen - A major part of our campaign to build cooperation between the community and the police has been to understand how they do their work and what we can do to help them. For one thing, the police officers here in Boquete are long on enthusiasm but short on resources. Slowly but surely, with the generous support of the expat community of Boquete, we are making real progress.

Alto al Crimen supported the Ozzie sting in the following ways:

• The Alto al Crimen Boquete Hot Line - An unsung hero in our security network, our only employee, Rodny Moreno mans the hot line 24/7 and frequently is the "first responder" when a crime occurs. The police love working with Rodny, because he collects accurate information from people who are in a panic and allows them to respond quickly and effectively.
• The Boquete-based private investigator who caught Ozzie the last time, Martin Ferrara, worked with Alto al Crimen to locate Ozzie
• Alto al Crimen personnel coordinated the police presence for the sting
• Alto al Crimen donated night vision binoculars to the DIJ (the FBI of Panama) used in the Ozzie sting. Prior to that, they had no binoculars at all.
• The walkie-talkies used on the Ozzie sting were donated by Alto al Crimen

Our ongoing efforts to improve cooperation are now focused on making sure that the police have access to modern communication technology. 

• The DIJ, our key investigative unit headquartered in Alto Boquete, has computers but NO INTERNET. How useful is that? Anyone out there willing to sponsor Internet for our police for $20 per month? 
• The DIP, another branch of the downtown police, has Internet, but no computer. Thanks to a generous concerned citizen, Alto al Crimen is providing them with a new computer and multi-function printer.

WE CITIZENS of Boquete have the unique chance to work together to keep this special community safe, now and in the future. This is the mission of Alto al Crimen. Your participation in the support of Alto al Crimen in any amount is greatly appreciated. Checks can be made out to Fundacion Alto al Crimen and dropped off in an envelop at Mailboxes Etc. box 13112.

If you would like to discuss this noticia, it is also posted on Boquete Ning at:  http://boquete.ning.com/group/crimestoppers/forum/topics/thanks-to-all-who-made-ozzies

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