16 Drivers A Day Are
Victims of Crime
According to a report in
the Spanish daily, La
Nación, every day, on
average, 16 owners of
vehicles are victims of
crime in the province of
San José.
Between January and
November, 2.811 vehicles
were broken into and
another 2.223 stolen.
The favourite for break
ins is breaking the
window or the lock to
grab whatever is found
inside. In the case of
theft, in 786 cases the
method of "bajonazo" - a
violent act where the
vehicle owner has his
vehicle taken usually at
gunpoint - was used.
Another favourite method
used by criminals is the
"rompeventanas" - window
breakers. The criminals
in this case was fro
traffic to stop at a
traffic light or heavy
congestion, breaking the
passenger side window
and grabbing belongings
on the front passenger
seat.
Women driving alone are
the favourite victims of
criminals, who have used
the heavy traffic of the
circunvalacion,
especially in the
Hatillos, on the south
side of San José, to hit
their target.
The latest incident
involved the leader of
the PLN party in the
legislator, Mayi
Antillon, whose vehicle
was attacked in the area
of Hatillo 6 on Friday.
The director of the
Organismo de
Investigación Judicial (OIJ),
Jorge Rojas, says that
although the statistics
have not risen, the
situation is out of
control.
"Perhaps the statistics
have not grown, the acts
have become more
violent. More than than
half of the vehicles
stolen are by way of the
bajonazo", said Rojas.
In some cases, vehicle
owners have been hit
more than once.
Some of the worst
cantones for vehicle
break-ins are San José
(1.091), Montes de Oca
(392), Escazú (235),
Goicoechea (210),
Curridabat (192),
Desamparados (182),
Moravia (123) and Tibas
(123).
In San José, an average,
a vehicle is broken into
every seven hours, while
in Montes de Oca (San
Pedro), one car a day is
broken into.
Broken down by
districts, Pavas is the
main problem for
authorities, as the
densely populated area,
home to 86000, had 164
vehicles broken into or
one every 48 hours.
Following Pavas is
Catedral (141), Mata
Redonda (116), Merced
(88), Carmen (87),
Hatillo (85), Zapote
(85), San Sebastián (79)
and San Francisco de Dos
Ríos (77).
For vice-minister of
Seguridad, Gerardo
Láscarez, the use of
drugs has a direct
relationship to the
problem.
Although the Hatillos is
the better known
location for the
rompeventanas, in fact
17 other intersections
have been targeted by
criminals.
Director Rojas admits a
failure in prevention,
but blames it on lack of
resources. "If there
were better prevention,
it is evident that the
numbers would drop. The
statistics are a sign
that there is a lack of
security on the roads,
but there is a reality:
there is not enough
police resources", said
Rojas.
According to Rojas, only
14 OIJ agents, working
in 7 teams, are in
charge of investigating
the 2.223 stolen
vehicles in San José. In
Alajuela, where there
are 70 vehicles thefts a
month, only a pair of
OIJ agents handle the
cases, as is the case in
Heredia with 60 vehicles
stolen monthly.
Rojas says that the
municipalities and the
Policía Fiscal (tax
police) should be
investigating car shops
and vehicle part sales
locations. |
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