Followup on Alto al Crimen Tuesday Meeting

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

First, thanks to all of you who attended the meeting and generously contributed to help Fundacion Alto al Crimen on its mission to prevent crime in the Boquete community. However, due to the unexpected event of the arrival of the Police Commissioner from David, much of what we hoped to discuss went by the wayside. Therefore, and to bring those of you who did not attend up to date, here is a recap of the meeting:

The mission of Fundacion Alto al Crimen is to help the community prevent crime and prevent becoming a victim of crime. The cost of prevention is tiny compared to the cost and as we are seeing now, pain of recovering from a crime. 

As citizens, we can think about our security as the 4Ds

Deter - By far the most cost effective approach to security is to make your home unattractive to criminals. Video cameras, security lights, dogs, visible alarm systems, fences, signage - all of these measures are likely to deter a criminal from choosing your house to attack. 

Detect - The most important element in preventing a successful home invasion is time - and the way to get time working for you is to detect when someone comes on your property and approaches your house. Security lights, perimeter alarms, and dogs all give you time to react and head off the invasion. 

Disrupt - Criminals depend on surprise when entering a home with people in it. If you can detect their presence, you can then try to disrupt their plans - for example by firing your boat horn out the window. Now YOU have the element of surprise working for you. What will happen next? Do you have a gun? In all likelihood, the bad guys will simply abort their plan and withdraw. 

Defend - When all else fails, you may have to defend yourself. Security professionals emphasize that escape is by far the best option rather than confronting intruders directly, unless you are trained and practiced. The best defense for us in our homes is a safe room, into which you can retreat while calling for help and setting off the sirens from hell to disrupt their activity. 

Security Workshops - Ralf Henrich, who owns a professional security company and provides service for Valle Escondido, Los Molinos and other communities, has offered to develop, in cooperation with Alto al Crimen,  a series of workshops on home invasion defense, self defense and firearms training. Those interested should send a note to workshops@altoalcrimen.org. If you have previously sent a note of interest, you are already on the list. Look for announcements in upcoming weeks. 

Crime Report - There have been four serious home invasions in the last weeks that are of concern to us here in Boquete:

1) Volcan - Several weeks ago, a gringo couple sold a car to a group of Panamanians and received a large amount of cash. The next day, their guard dog was poisoned. Apparently not sensing trouble, three days later, a group of three men invaded their home, beat them up and demanded the cash. Suspects have been identified, but as of this writing, no arrests have been made. 

2) Emerald Drive - Three men, one armed with a gun, entered a home by breaking a window. The residents were tied up and beaten. Money was demanded. We believe that this robbery was conducted by a gang, probably from David. No call was made to the Alto al Crimen Hot Line and it took some time for the police to respond. 

3) Las Nances - In a small development across the road from Montanas de Caldera, two people whose home in Montanas had been condemned due to its location near the cliff had rented a house close to the main road. They stated that they had undertaken legal proceedings against the developers at Montanas de Caldera. Their landlords, who live in a home farther into the development, had stopped by for drinks and socialized until around 8PM. They then left, with their dogs, walking through the house and out the front gate. When the residents re-entered their house, the wife entered a bathroom to find a man with a knife in the shower, who grabbed her by the throat. The husband went to another room in the house and was apparently struck from behind with a large stick and fell forward onto his face, creating injuries that required hospitalization. Two laptops, some jewelry and small items were taken, but many valuables were ignored. The landlord immediately called the Hot Line and the police were on scene promptly and in force. 

4) On Sunday night, March 25, a violent home invasion took place in one of the residences at Las Olas. The MO was identical to the Emerald Drive attack. 

Alto al Crimen has initiated investigations into all four of these crimes, We believe that the Emerald Drive and Las Olas crimes are very likely connected, although the MO is generally similar in all cases. Also, we all need to consider the risk factors in each case:

- Semi-remote location, far from a police station and close to a main road

- No security fence creating access control to the property

- No perimeter alarm or entry alarm

- No dogs

- No cameras! With camera systems, the bad guys may be identified and will certainly be deterred.

- No security lights

- No working alarm system

- No personal defense, no boat horn, no time

- No knowledge of the Hot Line to report the crime

In every case the invaders were able to gain access to the outside of the house undetected (in one case, they got in without the residents knowing it) and entered rapidly, making it impossible for the residents to react or defend themselves. A loaded shotgun sitting on the dining room table would not have protected them. Since the thieves generally take cell phones, some of the residents were unable to call for help. TIP: buy a cheap cell phone and hide it in your house for emergency use in case your regular phones are stolen.

Take responsibility for your own security - Caesar Sherrard, who regularly deals with the police, told us that the police have commented about how the Panamanians put bars on their windows, fences around their houses and generally protect their property, but the gringos come and build big houses in the middle of fields with no protection whatsoever. Then they expect the police (who have very limited resources themselves) to hop to and make a full court press whenever something happens that could have been prevented if the residents had made even a small effort at protection. Ceasar noted that it is important for the expats to get serious about  protecting their property if they want to live happily ever after in Boquete. The police cannot help in any material way once a crime is committed (just as everywhere in the world) and it is the mission of Alto al Crimen to prevent crimes from happening in the first place, but we need your help and cooperation.

At least six police officers showed up for the meeting, arriving in the middle of the presentation, including a big boss from David. They explained that they are trying to professionalize the force and build cooperation with the expat community. Alto al Crimen will be meeting with a delegation including the Chief from David in coming days to advance the process, which has been ongoing for some time. 

The Alto al Crimen Boquete Hot Line is becoming more sophisticated and the Resident Database is growing rapidly. Thanks to our wonderful operator, Rodny Moreno, the Hot Line has played an instrumental role in getting help to the scene of emergencies in and around Boquete. 

If you wish to contribute to the operation of Fundacion Alto al Crimen, please put a check made out to Fundacion Alto al Crimen in and envelope and drop it off at Mailboxes Etc. 

Best wishes to all in Boquete,

Alto al Crimen

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