Live Safe in Boquete

Preparation is the secret for enjoying a happy life in Panama

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On September 2, 2024, a group of concerned expats presented an outline for organizing our community to eliminate the fear of becoming a crime victim. This presentation is a revival and modernization of information and knowledge accumulated since 2010.

Following is an edited version of that talk presented here in a form that you can easily digest. Please subscribe for ongoing tips, techniques, and information. Please pass this along to your friends.

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Crime in Boquete can easily cost us more than all the money we donate to legitimate charities. We cannot allow that to happen, and we can take action to make sure that it does not happen.

In 2010, a small group of expats and Panamanians came to together to address the rising crime rate in Boquete. As a result of this effort, a new and unique model for community security evolved and crime in Boquete all but disappeared.

In 2010 Caesar Sherrard, a native of South Africa, spoke to our Tuesday meeting and described how he had come from Belize after his eco-resort have been terrorized by robbers, who assaulted his guests at gunpoint, and killed one of his most valued workers and friend. He told us that he came to Boquete, because it would be a safer place to live, but that rising crime was taking Boquete down the same path that had ruined Belize.

From the audience at the Tuesday meeting in 2010, one person with their hands in the air and said "If you do something about it I have a check right here for $1000." Thus, Alto al Crimen was born.

Over the next years, AAC was generously supported by the community and its varied and innovative activities in Boquete reduced crime to the point where it was no longer needed and it was disbanded in 2019.

In 2012, AAC needed a person to answer a crime reporting hotline that was designed to create uncertainty among the criminals. Rodny, a physically disadvantaged Panamanian, became the hotline operator. It immediately became apparent that his services were far beyond crime reporting when his first call was from an expat whose husband was suffering a heart attack on the way to David. Rodny built his helpline service and a loyal following of expats into a valued and legendary community service.

In 2019, with the dissolution of AAC, Rodny became his own company, improved his technology, expanded his community services to Volcan, and created an interoperable sister company in Coronado. Today his members enjoy protection in their homes or wherever they or their guests are traveling in Panama.

You can sign up for RodnyDirect services here.

Each of these layers of protection is important. Community protection is the least expensive per person. Neighborhood watch requires organization but is still relatively inexpensive per person. Protecting your home is a cost for every homeowner, but is the most reliable way to protect yourself from crime. Protecting yourself, with guns or escape is dangerous and unreliable. All reasonable means should be taken to make the first three layers effective.

When we talk about crime, it's important to understand the definitions.

• Burglary is when a person enters your home and steal something without you being there.

• Robbery is when something is taken forcefully from you, for example, in a street mugging.

• A home invasion is when a person or group of people burst into your home when you were there and violently assaulted you. This is the most terrifying type of crime there is, but it is also the easiest to defend against.

It's important to recognize that there are many different police organizations operating in Panama. When you call the desk sergeant at the Boquete police station to report a crime, they may not have either the people or the ability to make a response.

The bottom line is that it is up to us to defend our community and prevent crime before it happens. This can be done if we cooperate as a community to do the job.

Each of these groups of possible criminals requires a specific line of attack to deal with them. Understanding who the criminals are, what they want, and how they operate is an essential part of developing our community situational awareness.

I would add to this slide opportunity. An easy way into a house. A valuable item in plain sight. No apparent defenses. If the bad guys have knowledge that you have something valuable, the easiest way to maintain control is to come in when you are not home. They may know that they can get into your home while you are asleep without waking you up. If you do wake up, they have the element of surprise and may use weapons to maintain control. This is why you NEVER want to let anyone get into your home without you knowing about it and giving you time to establish control and deprive them of surprise.

Any of these groups of people can potentially be burglars themselves, or even more likely sell you out to a burglar for a few bucks. Housekeepers and gardeners have the opportunity to not only check out your stuff, but to examine your security system, or lack of. Any time there is a group of workers building a house or preparing a road who can see your residence, there is a high probability that one of them might report to his burglar friend when you have packed up for a trip to Costco.

None of these things is life-threatening. 90% of the risk can be avoided by simply not becoming a display window for criminals. TVs used to be prime targets, but big screens are so big and cheap that they are not stolen much anymore.

The most unsafe thing you can have in your house is a safe. If someone had to come and install the safe or if there are workers in your house, they will know that you have a safe. You were setting yourself up for a violin, home invasion, and wish you guys the guns by to make your head and scream at you to open the safe. There are plenty of places to hide valuables that no one will be able to find. All the bad guys know to look at your toilet tanks and refrigerator freezer to find your hidden drugs. Maids will look in every drawer you have so don't think that stashing something valuable in the back of a bottom drawer is going to be protected.

There are lots of books available on how to hide things in creative ways. It isn't hard just think a little bit out of the box.

If someone is watching your house, they will know when you leave during the day. The average burglary only lasts eight minutes. Holidays and festivals bring bad guys who think they can get away with things and hide in the crowd.

In planning your security, it's important to realize that it's dangerous for the bad guys too. Your job is to make it look dangerous and difficult.

The two most important principles for home security are The two most important principles for home security are guard your perimeter and don't ever be surprised in your own home.

Many people think that their dogs will alert them and protect them in the event of a break-in. Indeed, guard dogs kept in a pen outside the house are an excellent warning system. However, pet dogs sleeping inside the house rarely provide a warning, and never physically protect the occupants. They may, however, provide a deterrent if the burglar sees that you have a larger dog or one, that's likely to make noise.

Guns are a whole separate topic. They are the absolute last resort in home protection. If anyone knows you have one, just like having a safe, you're very likely to be broken into with the intent of stealing your gun. There are very few examples of people who successfully protected their property from an invasion with a gun. Using them requires training and practice. And when you need a gun you need it bad and you need it fast. It's very unlikely that waking up out of a sound sleep at four in the morning you were going to be able to mount a defense.

This is the 4D strategy for designing your home defense.

• By far the most cost-effective method of home defense is deterrence. You want to convince the bad guys to simply move on. Houses have attitudes just like people do and criminals. Select houses that look like the owners are weak or don't care about their security.

• You need to know when someone is coming onto your property. There are many ways to guide the bad guys to an alarmed entry point that you have chosen.

• When someone does enter your property, you want to create one heck of a ruckus to disrupt their plans. Lights, sirens, boat horns, and even barking dogs will disrupt whatever they were planning to do and drive them away.

• You never want to be in the position of having to defend your house or your life against a violent attacker. It's important to have an escape route planned that you can use if you wake up and hear somebody crashing into your house. If you have paid attention to the first three principles, you will never have to face personal defense in your own home.

There are many ways to establish deterrence around your house. The main requirement is that it look like you were serious and you give yourself The main requirement is that it look like you are serious and you give your house attitude.

This gate looks like it would be hard to get through. There are steep drop-offs on both sides of the bridge and hidden Barbwire discourages anyone from trying to climb up the banks. It has warnings and obvious lights and a camera.

Warning, signs are effective, but you can't just go down to the store and buy a fake sign. The bad guys shop in the same stores and they know what the fake signs look like.

Inside the gate, a highly reliable motion sensor sets off an alarm in the house whenever anyone passes through the gate. An additional motion sensor light also comes on, along with the other motion sensor lights around the area.

The camera and the light that comes on when the gate is approached tell the intruder that they have been detected even before they attempt to enter.

Once an intruder has been detected, a variety of disruption techniques can be used. Both horns in particular are highly reliable, Once an intruder has been detected, a variety of disruption techniques can be used. Both horns in particular are highly reliable, never create false alarms, and wake up everyone within a half-mile radius.

As mentioned before, you never want to be in a situation where you have to defend your life in your own house. It's not like in the movies and however, you thought you were going to defend yourself it won't happen that way.

• Renters need to change the locks immediately. When you move into a rental house, there is no way of knowing how many copies of the keys there are. Landlords may have given keys to immediately. When you move into a rental house, there is no way of knowing how many copies of the keys there are. Landlords may have given keys to Workers, housekeepers and who knows.

• A person who can help you at any time of day or night is especially important for newcomers. RodnyDirect is every expat’s “Panamanian uncle.”

• Have a security audit done on your rental. Many things might not be obvious to a newcomer to Panama. Renters are frequent crime victims.

If you are stopped and the officer can smell alcohol on your breath, you are guilty and will receive a $250 fine. Then you can drive home on your own. Since the legal limit is zero, there is no point in asking for a breathalyzer test.

RodnyDirect is a unique bi-lingual helpline service for us in Boquete. When you join RodnyDirect, you fill out a personal profile that only he has access to, listing directions to your house, emergency contacts, medical conditions, your pet sitter, and anything else you care to add. You are covered anywhere in Panama and your guests are also covered.

Rodny’s service is legendary in Chriqui and a must-have for every expat.

Neighborhood Watch is an established and effective way to protect your neighborhood. If everyone does a little, the crime rate can be drastically reduced.

You can access the community interest form here.

The purpose of the form is to get an idea of who is interested in what so that we can begin to assemble like-minded teams to address community crime prevention. Even if you don’t want to participate as a volunteer, we are interested in what you think is important.

If you found this overview helpful, please subscribe to receive updates, tips on security and information about current crimes and how to avoid becoming a victim. Knowledge is power.