Crime in Costa Rica

Is Costa Rica safe?  My general answer is yes, but with a few caveats.

Costa Rica does not have anywhere near the crime in the United States and the crime that is here tends to be less violent.

In San José, there are far fewer rapes and murders, however, petty theft is quite popular and on the streets, the snatch and grab type of crimes are common; especially in the downtown area.

Pickpockets are around in numbers and it is always advisable to keep pocketbooks tucked safely under an arm. Do not carry a lot of money, and keep the money you have in a location where you don't need to pull out a wad to pay for something. Generally, if you do not wear flashy jewelry, if you stay on the main streets, and if you stay aware of your surroundings, you'll be fine. Also, it is best not to be taking your evening stroll late at night in San Jose, and under no circumstances, enter any of the many public parks after dark.  Most are truly dangerous at night, as they are in almost any big city.

Car theft and soccer are the national pastimes. Lock it or lose it.

NEVER leave valuables in your car where they can be seen. Lock your car always, even for 30 second trips to buy something. Do not dangle your arm out the window with your $20,000 Rolex flashing in the sun. You may look cool, but the only people you will impress are those you individuals you do not want to impress.

In general though, NEVER leave stuff out anywhere. Keys, watches, cell phones, or any items you are not comfortable losing. This includes stuff in your hotel room. Petty theft is huge in Costa Rica, but it is a crime of opportunity and YOU provide the opportunity.

Don't over react to what I am writing. Walking around the downtown area is fun. Lots of excellent people watching... just be cautious and alert.  As I re-read this, I think I just described every major city in the US but without the gangs and the guns.

Update 2007

I am sad to say that crime has gotten much worse since I wrote this web site.  I am speaking here of both violent crime and the petty theft I spoke of above.  Street crime is certainly up and more worrisome is the huge increase in murders, rape etc.  There are not enough police to handle it, but 1,000 new police offices were just graduated from the academy, so that should help!

Recently, the government established a tourist police force, most officers speaking English and supposedly more responsive to that sector of crime.  The jury is still out on whether they will be effective

If you wish to read my take on this crime issue, please see the blog entry here.

How is crime outside of San José like the country or the neighborhoods?

Depends on the neighborhood, but in general, crime is less common and you can do just about anything you would do in the US day or night. Just ask your neighbors before you walk around at night. Neighborhoods vary a lot.  Most are pretty safe, but use common sense. Recent reports of the number of arrests made indicate San José accounts for about 70% of those persons placed in custody.

What about breaking and entering?

The Bad People here generally do not break into homes that are occupied (read that as someone is IN THE HOME), but they will absolutely grab anything you leave outside or enter a home if they know it is vacant. This is especially true in the Central Valley.  Those bars you see on windows are certainly part of the Spanish/Latin culture, but they have morphed into a security feature evolving from the thieves.  Having someone in the home at all times is a good idea.  There are countless stories of people (not just North Americans) taking a vacation and returning to find their homes empty.  An empty home is an almost irresistible target.

As domestic help is so very inexpensive here... even full-time live-in help... many folks have housekeepers for this very reason.  Any sign of occupancy is a strong deterrent to housebreaking, and though hard to believe, domestic help is not a whole lot more expensive than a high end security system.  Also, an alarm system can't do the laundry, watch the kids, clean a house or cook a meal!

Do I have to worry about someone stealing my PASSPORT?

Yes!  You have to be cautious about people stealing everything, but passports, especially US passports are really popular.  A recent report states that a US Passport has a street value of $10,000.

Well then should I even carry my passport with me?

Technically, if you are not a legal resident, you must carry your passport with you, but there is a simple solution. If you plan to stay more than a week or so, contact an attorney (Abogado y Notario) and let him photocopy the front page of your passport AND the page that contains your most recent entry visa stamp to Costa Rica. They will then certify the copy (add stamps, timbres, and a seal) and give it back to you.  Many will copy-reduce it in size so it will fit easily in a purse or wallet. I have never once had a problem showing it to the police or any other official. Certification takes about 10 minutes and costs me about $3,000 colones (currently $7).  If you are traveling for just a few weeks, just make a copy of the same info above and forget the stamps... nobody will bother you.  Leave the passport safely in a hotel safe or other secure location.

I read where some US college girls got killed there.  What about that?  Are there a lot of murders?

Well news like that does sell newspapers doesn't it. 

This is a country of 4 million people so of course we have murders and all the other violent crimes.  That story got a lot of press and, as is the norm for US reporting, only told part of the story.  The young ladies in question were in a high traffic drug area at 3 AM in the morning, but THAT fact seemed to never make it to the US papers.  How safe would they have been in ANY US city at 3 AM in a known drug dealing area?

Murders and rapes do happen here as they do in any other country, but the number of crimes per 1,000 people is far less and with the use of a bit of common sense, you will find Costa Rica to be a safe place to live or to visit.