This is question that is frequently raised by the participants on my monthly relocation/retirement tours. There has been a lot written about crime recently in numerous on-line blogs and newspapers. To compound matters a lot of people go on line to do their initial research about Costa Rica and come across a lot of this alarmist information. Unfortunately, much of this information tends to be exaggerated.  I have lived here almost 30 years and have never been a crime victim. Furthermore I wouldn’t be living here if I thought for one minute my personal safety was in jeopardy.

On the other hand, I have read about some foreigners who have been victimized several times. Most of these people fall prey to petty criminals because they don’t take the right precautions. In the last chapter of my bestselling guidebook about The New Golden Door to Retirement and Living in Costa Rica I talk about the measures residents can take to reduce their chances of becoming a crime victim.

Fortunately, most violent crime here involves revenge killings between small-time drug dealers and brawls in bars between drunks. Burglary is the most common crime in Costa Rica. NO society is crime free. Costa Rica has doubled its police force and is going to pass stricter laws in an effort to get a handle on the situation.  Although there has been an increase in crime here, Costa Rica is very safe when compared with some of the other countries in the region. None of the situations below exist here.

In Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras there is a serious gang problem. There is a combined total of 70,000 violent gang members operating in those countries. To make matters worse the governments of these countries have not been able to get this situation under control.

Colombia has had a virtual civil war in some part of the country for several decades. Thousands of innocent people, who have been caught in the crossfire,  have died as a result.

In Venezuela crime, especially kidnappings, is rampant. I have talked to several Venezuelans who live in Costa Rica and almost all of them have a relative or know someone who has been abducted for money in their country.

Mexico is whole different ball game. In Mexico City one out of ten business was robbed last year. Kidnappings are also out of control.  I just saw a program on a Spanish TV station where they showed a MEXICAN kidnap victim who had his fingers cu off one by one until his relatives paid the ransome. Furthermore the number of murders (2,682) by organized crime in the first six months of 2008, has surpassed the total for all of 2007 (2,673)according to one of Mexico’s leading newspapers, El Universal. In the state of Chihuahua alone there have been 1,026 so far in 2008. Sinaloa, Baja Californis, Durango, Guerrero and Michoacán are other violent areas of the country.

Who in their right mind would want to live or in any of these places where violent crime is endemic and out of hand?

There has been a lot of hype recently about Panama being safer than Costa Rica. Don’t believe it. Panama does not report its crime statistics in an effort to protect its image and business interests.   Panama’s well-off classes have chosen to look the other way while pretending to ward off crime.  Laying head and neck on the ground, as ostriches, will not make the hazard fade away either.