If You Had A 90% Chance Of Winning The Lottery…
What would you do? I’m willing to bet you’d play.
In Costa Rica, crime is so ridiculously out of control that the criminals have a 90% chance of being let off – free as a bird.
What this creates is a breeding ground for criminals. But not just seasoned criminals – sometimes normal law abiding citizens will engage in criminal activity once they realize just how easy it is to commit a crime here and essentially get off SCOTT-FREE!
The other day there was a piece in another online Costa Rica news site that talked about the issues with mortgage fraud. In the article – co-written by an attorney – they describe the common issue of foreigners and locals alike, having their properties and homes stolen from beneath them.
The fact is…there’s truth to what was written.
Where on God’s green Earth can someone residing in another country, having never come to Costa Rica, succeed in stealing a house and property without ever having to provide proof that a transaction took place? Costa Rica…that’s where.
In a country that requires 4 workers and a paper trail 3 copies long to buy a screwdriver in the local hardware store, one can invent a transaction for hundreds of thousands of dollars and rob you of your home without ever stepping foot on Costa Rican soil.
Maybe you are thinking it’s impossible – and if you were in any other country it would be – however in Costa Rica there appears to be a severe shortage of common sense in the legal system that primarily consists of judges and lawyers under the age of 25.
God forbid you should ask the criminals to provide proof. No that would be too simple now wouldn’t it? Here they find the much better solution is to drag it through the dysfunctional legal system over the next 10 years only to let the criminals walk anyways.
Did you know that 86% of all murders in Costa Rica go unconvicted? That means that of all the murders each year (and there’s a lot of them), only a measly 14% of them are solved.
Maybe it’s a form of population control like the roads and bridges throughout the country.
Here’s the thing…
Kill someone and…you’ll likely be good to go. But don’t wear a freakin seatbelt or park your car in the imaginary yellow zone – watch how fast you’re busted and fined through the nose. The average traffic fine in Costa Rica is twice the average salary per month of the Costa Ricans.
After all it is about priorities right? Ya…you get the hard lesson when the traffic cop says, “you can pay your fine at any number of your favorites banks in the country or if you prefer I could just pretend this didn’t happen for $60.”
Corruption is a stern and harsh word to describe authorities. Here in Costa Rica is an understatement. They don’t make a word strong enough to describe the level of corruption here. Lawyers, notaries, police, mayors, presidents, you name it…they’re all corrupt. In fact there are two former presidents in prison in Costa Rica right now for corruption.
So where do you begin to fix this? I have no idea but if you have any…I’d love to hear them.
Short URL: http://www.costaricanewssite.com/?p=5960
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CR sounds very…well interesting.