BajaNomad

Protect your Stuff

dtutko1 - 3-23-2013 at 06:48 AM

Burglaries have been bad this year. We have been hit at least 4 different times. We have taken several steps to prevent this, including finishing a strong bodega and locking things up regularly. We also rescued "Charly" from the Cabo Humane society. Charly is a purebred south of the border collie, a little less that a year old. It has been a very positive experience. The Cabo humane soc required a home visit? b4 placing Charly with us. The fee was 1000 p, or $80 us and for that Charly was neutered, had all his shots with paperwork. A new collar and leash. They also included the paperwork required if we were to fly him out of the country. Charly has been a very fast learner, he wants to be a good dog and very happy with his new family and job. We have had no thefts since Charly arrived and can now leave our property w/o the fear/knowledge that the Rats are combing our stuff.

Bajaboy - 3-23-2013 at 07:04 AM

Good for you...sounds like a positive addition. Sorry about the ratas.

nbacc - 3-23-2013 at 07:35 AM

A good bark goes a long way!!!!!!!

Hook - 3-23-2013 at 07:53 AM

I suspect it is the same all over Mexico, since the advent of the Great Recession. Maybe all over the world, I cant say. Just a lot more desperate people. And in a Catholic country, everyone seems to have offspring that needs to be supported. That increases the desperation.

Certainly the increased deportation from the US contributes to the desperation as well, as persons who used to send money home are now another financial liability, rather than an asset.

Not trying to justify their actions. People know the difference between right and wrong. Just saying the ratons have increased in many areas since then. DavidE commented that the crime rate you knew even two years ago may be very different in some locations. That rang true for me.

We have our own horror story over here in San Carlos. Two municipal police were caught red-handed, breaking into a Canadian's house. The caretaker called the cops and they were arrested and spent five months in jail. In the interim, the police searched their homes and it had lots of items from other burglaries in the preceeding months. Gringos came down and physically identified their items. Getting them back was another thing.............

Well, the perps walked free the other day, because the Canadians eventually had to go back to Canada (the six month thing, you know) and they werent here to file some complaint. Some complaint that couldnt have been filed in the last five months???? They werent actually HERE when the crime was committed. It was in the summer, when so many gringos are gone from their homes. Open season.

A witness and verified stolen goods in their homes and STILL they walk free?

I'd say the judicial reforms in Mexico are no where near close to being instituted...........

bajaguy - 3-23-2013 at 08:03 AM

Dutko1, great story regarding the dog, however don't rely on the dog to protect you or your belongings..........if a raton wants them, he will get them.

Harden the target, lights, (loud) alarms and watchful neighbors.....force them to go somewhere else

absinvestor - 3-23-2013 at 08:37 AM

Hook- I recently returned from a trip to San Carlos. Burglaries here around Mulege are still very rare (they do happen.)For example I never lock the car and only lock the palapa when returning to the states and never if only going to be gone for a few hours. It seemed everybody I talked to in the San Carlos area with anything outside a larger well inhabited neighborhood had had some type of burglary. My observations might be wrong but it seems to me that in and around Mulege the Mexican population understands that the American/Canadian residents do a lot to help the economy and they do their best to make sure burglaries etc do not happen. The population in and around San Carlos is so much greater it had a different feeling. (I spent a whopping 3 days in and around San Carlos so I am far from an expert!!)

Hook - 3-23-2013 at 08:56 AM

I'm sure your HFC buddy told you about his trust in the San Carlos area, didnt he? That's rather foolish, I think.

No breakins for us in five years. About seven years for him.

But our abode is very humble and we do have metal doors with metal screen doors. The windows do have bars but they are wide enough to allow good vision out. We probably dont look like we have much. And we dont, really. Bigger fish to fry, elsewhere, I guess.

Appearances are important, too. The bigger gringo houses get hit. The poorer gringos like us probably get ignored.

[Edited on 3-23-2013 by Hook]

absinvestor - 3-23-2013 at 09:30 AM

Yep, the HFC buddy did tell me!! The easy trip from Colorado to the San Carlos area is still appealing to me. I am looking for something on Playa Cochorit. If I find something I will build a dwelling as secure as possible but I won't be surprised if I am burglarized-it is the price I am willing to pay for still living several months of the year on the beach but closer to the kids and grandkids in Colorado.

mulegemichael - 3-23-2013 at 09:36 AM

hey abs....while burglary isn't rampant here in mulege, it's definitely happening...a buddy of mine had his quad stolen a couple of weeks ago from his yard....i've had my wallet stolen off my dining room table...the battery of our car, satellite radio, gps were stolen right outside our bedroom window whilst we slept....ballsy!...and on and on...EVERYTHING is locked now when we aren't present.....the guys that have been caught are usually stupid methheads that don't care about the gringo influence in their community.

tiotomasbcs - 3-23-2013 at 11:34 AM

Crystal Meth Amphetamines! Speed Kills!! Sadly this highly addictive drug is available all over the Bja Peninsula. Policia must get a cut of the profits? They steal from both local Mexicanos & Americanos so I do not think it is a social economic disparity. And stoned out of their head they are very dangerous. Ten Cuidado! :no: Tio

Hook - 3-23-2013 at 02:23 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by absinvestor
Yep, the HFC buddy did tell me!! The easy trip from Colorado to the San Carlos area is still appealing to me. I am looking for something on Playa Cochorit. If I find something I will build a dwelling as secure as possible but I won't be surprised if I am burglarized-it is the price I am willing to pay for still living several months of the year on the beach but closer to the kids and grandkids in Colorado.


Why not become the first gringo squatter at La Manga?? :lol:

At least the ocean is nice there. Cochorit is just a shallow backwater bay. And it's close to Empalme where most of the meth heads seem to live. When their busts make it to the papers, they always seem to live in Empalme.

DavidE - 3-23-2013 at 05:49 PM

Like anywhere else, an overwhelming number of uņados, smash windows, steal stuff while staying careful enough to not snag their gold jewelery on a window pane or drop their 300 dollar tablet in the process. It is a process of rotting of the mind not hunger pangs.

absinvestor - 3-23-2013 at 09:03 PM

Mulege Michael- Guess I've been lucky. On our last trip to Mulege we spent a couple of days at Playa Santa Inez. On our way thru Mulege we happened upon Manual (prior chief of police) and he said that there have been some car break-ins at Santa Inez. He advised to remove the valuables and leave the car unlocked with the windows down. That way any potential bandidos wouldn't break a window to get in.. We followed his advise - we removed the gps, left the glove compartment open, the windows down and even unlocked and left open the car carrier. We were lucky enough to have a house to leave most stuff home before leaving so didn't have to carry much on a long walk up the beach. (It would be really frustrating if someone broke a window to get into a car with nothing worth stealing. Hook- I just didn't like Manga and I would like a place that I could leave items when returning to the States. I must have visited a different Cochorit- Attached is a pic- I found the beach itself to be beautiful. I'm sure your observations about Empalme are accurate..

pat, george and maggie-aa.jpg - 29kB

rhintransit - 3-24-2013 at 07:38 AM

weird, here I am in the 'safe' USA and all I am hearing from friends and family is about electronic banking theft. two of my close friends have had their debit card numbers hacked, from using them at two (different) grocery stores. now they only use cash. another works for a large hospital/medical corp...and says hacking into I.T./personal data for identity theft is common.

meanwhile back in Baja/Loreto, for the first time in 8 years, I had a loss...my locked storage bodega, on another property dedicated to storage and with owners living there, was found open, door with only two keys, supposedly, wide open and a generator and sewing machine gone and tarped items casually gone through. the owner of the place, American, said, don't even bother going to the police, you'll never get anything back even if they recover it.