ALTO AL CRIMEN 6477-6662STOP THE CRIME Your Help Line Standing by 24/7 December 2, 2016A letter to the over 500 registered members of AAC. The purpose of this letter is to provide information for you about your public service foundation.
The police in Panama are rotated about every ninety days. So every three months your Alto al Crimen volunteer officers and our AAC Hotline operator make it a practice to meet and greet the new police Boquete Chief to make the officers aware of AAC and your connection with them. Officers new to the area can’t be expected to know local issues or directions, but the AAC 24/7 bilingual operator does. He is your bilingual voice in times of need. Did you know that there are options for ambulance service from Boquete to David hospitals, one with an EMT and one without? The costs vary accordingly. With the help of our AAC operator you can select the level of service and cost that you may require when needed. You never know when you may need the police. We can direct them to your house even though you may be nervous or distracted. The same is true of the bomberos. We are approaching the dry season when brush fires are common, and you may need to make a call to protect your property or the property of others. Have you noticed the Caldera Road police check point? Who hasn’t? It was activated shortly after AAC president Bob Gregory and VP Tom Counter met with Panama’s Minister of Security and strongly supported the check point as a crime deterrent. This location is the most traveled in and out of Boquete. Home invasions have been practically non-existent since the check point has been in existence. The quality of life here is good at this time. However, the founders of AAC and some recent Board of Directors members have lived in and left wonderful places where crime had made the quality of life not worth staying there. AAC was created to prevent this kind of problem. It has been working, but it has a cost. This time of year is our fund raising time, and we need your financial support to continue our mission on your behalf. AAC’s main continuing expense is paying our 24/7 operator monthly. A twenty dollar or more annual donation from each member would easily fill that need. But that need hasn’t been filled. It is not that we have spent over budget, but our members have not kept in mind our Community Services and that we are a public charity and not a for-profit business. Contributions are our only source of funds. Every function of AAC except manning the AAC 24-hour Hotline is completed by our volunteers. Administrative and other expenses are kept to a minimum. But we must continue to have donations to be able to operate. We need and are asking for your support. Your donation of $20, $30 or more can be left in an envelope at MAILBOXES ETC. in Boquete. Be sure to leave a note with your name and registration number. Though this notice is directed to our existing registered members, if you are not a member and read this, consider the benefits and peace of mind you can derive from signing up for the AAC Hotline. Go to altoalcrimen.info to sign up, and leave your donation with your name at MAILBOXES, ETC. We’ll be making a presentation at the BCP Tuesday meeting on January 17 to provide information about Alto al Crimen. We plan to make an announcement about an exciting new service we are arranging for our contributors. Yours for a safer Boquete, Bob Gregory, President and Tom Counter, VP | 
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Re:
" Home invasions have been practically non-existent since the check point has been in existence".
I don't know the degree of non existence, but there was a home invasion with the homeowner shot also a tiendita employee shot not too far away in the upper reaches of El Salto/Volcancito. My neighbors were burgled 4 doors down from me, and a Canadian was murdered in a home invasion in Macano before the check point.
This check point can be bypassed if it is raining, or by taking the road from Gualaca.
The burden of having the check point is countless person hours of waiting, increased fuel cost, pollution. I once counted 20 cars stacked up waiting to be checked.
Criminals can pass south bound with their booty unchecked.
Revenue for towing and tickets must be way up (not crime related in my opinion).
Horrible PR for tourism.
What am I missing?
PS: I subscribe to your service
Burglary was not specifically addressed in the update posting. You mentioned no dates. If the homeowner incident in upper El Salto is the one I am familiar with, it was before the checkpoint was implemented. As you pointed out, the Canadian's murder was long before the checkpoint, so I am not sure what your point is.
In the past couple of months I have not needed to sit in a line nor have I been required to stop at the checkpoint. I roll down my window and have my driver's license in my left hand in the open window. The police just wave me on. I imagine that they have a way of profiling so that they don't have to stop everyone. Don't you think that knowing that there is a checkpoint might make criminals think twice before deciding to go to Boquete? Something has reduced the numbers of home invasions. Maybe some inconvenience is worth it if crimes are being prevented.
If a crime is reported quickly, the police shift over and check southbound traffic to try to intercept the criminals.
Yes, it would be better if the checkpoint were slightly north of the Caldera Road. We hope the mayor will be willing to fund a guard shack for that purpose. Currently the location under the pedestrian bridge and near two bus stops is the most convenient one for the police.
The checkpoint was ineffective for the two crimes near Boquete as they happened AFTER the checkpoint was established. As reported by newsroompanama in Jan of this year in Cerro Verde, El Salto.That's why I mentioned it. The Macano murder near the checkpoint I should have left out as it was before the checkpoint and as you pointed out is irrelevant.
I have a beef as the lady moto cop has been reported working the checkpoint slowing things down. You must have missed her. I have been stopped on a bus as they went through it 3 times, not a word spoken! A lady reported she was towed for what was a typo on her insurance policy.
Good to know that the s bound lanes is checked if required.
The glaring error is that traveling from Gualaca to rob north of the checkpoint requires maybe 20 minutes longer commute from David. And the checkpoint is not manned 24/7 and the criminals can use the "Waze" smartphone app. Nor does it address the 20,000 people or so that live north of the checkpoint.
I think a well intentioned idea has had an unforeseen implementation of a transito and towing cash cow. Why is it necessary to check drivers licenses? What does that have to do with property and violent crime?
And i think it's really bad PR reminiscent of Noriegas "garitas". One of which is abandoned in the same general vicinity.
And we don't really know what has reduced the home invasions, do we?