Safety in Caguas, Puerto Rico

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewforum.php?id=245

moni77 wrote:

I read some reports online and they all seem to say that crime has diminished considerably, anyone???

That's news to me....
Crime still is a big problem on the island and the police is not really good at doing something about it.
Then again, most killings are said to be drugs related.

Like anywhere, the area where you live is important and you should avoid certain areas, just like you do now in St. Louis.

I go to Caguas at least twice per week and I've never been the victim of crime or witnessed anything. It's a nice town and if you find a place to live in a good neighborhood you might like it, too.

You have to keep in mind that Puerto Rico is different from the USA in many ways. Read some posts on this forum and you will get an impression.
If you have a chance, come over for an extended visit before you decide to move here.

We live about 35 minutes south of Caguas and do a lot of shopping there in several of the malls. I've never had trouble anywhere in PR. Yes, there is crime, mostly around drug running and one reads articles about large shipments being intercepted. Our experience is that if you don't go looking for trouble you won't find any. That being said, if you don't have to live in caguas proper, you may want to consider some of the surrounding towns where life is slower and more laid back. We are in Naguabo, barrio El Duce and are about as far out as you can get even by PR standards, yet are still 10 minutes away from modern shopping. I would suggest an extended visit to explore the surrounding areas and see how you feel about them. PR is not for everyone!

Generally speaking, I would say Caguas is safer than the SJ metropolitan area but I'm not sure if that is from the perspective of total crime or on a per capita basis. I think Caguas is definitely safer than Ponce.

Crime is mostly drug related, certainly, but I don't think we civilians can take heart in that fact. When one dealer/gun-for-hire/general-degenerate-scumbag decides to assassinate a rival while he's eating lunch at the local Denny's, he often end-ups shooting a bunch of people not connected to either party. These murderers often tend to not get caught, a fact not lost on them and that doesn't exactly deter them from killing you on a whim.

All that said, you could live there and not have any problems personally. However, I have found that even people who have not been personally affected do suffer in their quality of life by the overhanging concern Puerto Ricans generally feel for the state of violent crime in PR coupled with a dysfunctional justice system that is unable to deal with it.

I live in Caguas (actually in mountains above Caguas between Caguas and Cidra, but technically in Caguas). I think it's neither super safe nor very scary. I think previous posts are correct in saying that you need to be careful and always aware. If you are involved with dangerous people or drugs, you should be scared. Otherwise, you'll probably be OK if you use common sense and trust your instint. I have found myself in run down neighborhoods or areas in Caguas that did not make me feel very good. Where I live in the hills (campo), my husband and I are the only gringos, so there is a fair amount of staring, but our closest neighbors have been nothing but good people.
I have not experienced any violence in Caguas, but I did have my car broken into and stereo stolen, this isn't so remarkable but they also set fire to the passenger seat for some reason and the fire burned down into the floor of the car and caused a lot of damage to the interior. Robbing a stereo I understand, but there seems to be no reason to burn a seat unless you are just acting vindictive. The only reason I can think for this is that this occured shortly after we had arrived and had just received the car from the states, we still had the Oregon license plate on the front of the car. So I can only think that this act was some sort of anger against gringos? Anyway, I think you can find some nice places to live that are fairly safe if you are willing to pay for a gated community or to live a bit out of town in the campo and drive. In town the houses are all close together and neighbors are by default going to know your habits very quickly. This will put you at risk for robbery when you are out. Where I live however, our neighbors have been good about watching out for any irregular activity around us and trying to prevent anything happening in the neighborhood.
Hope this info is helpful. Good luck with your decisions.

Hi. I'm from Caguas. It's relatively safe. I've never been mugged or anything (unlike Miramar, San Juan where someone snatched me my purse once). I live in a gated community on the suburbs (Sabanera del Rio in Gurabo). It's actually the next town but used to be a neighborhood of Caguas so it's 10-15 minutes from Caguas. It's a very nice neighborhood and there is a very good english school nearby (American Academy). I'm moving to San Juan in August because my son it's going away and the house is too big for my daughter and me. So I'm renting or selling my house. I came across this site while I was searching for english schools in San Juan. I know there are some but they are double the price of American Academy, which is just as good. If I can help you with anything let me know. You can email me at [email protected].
Good luck,
Marta

what area in caguas would be considered safe and how big is the city

Caguas is like any other city: it has its great areas and its crime.... it's a middle island city with everything but the ocean.   if you live in a good "urbanization," crime will not be an issue unless you are near the periphery and the gates are not wired.  there have been some cases where very high end communities have been entered over high walls.  Where ever you come from, use the same street smarts you do there ( unless you are from some very unusual utopia type place) doors closed and locked and if it doesn't fell right, stay away.

Just remember that the vast majority of the crimes are crimes of opportunity and they can happen just about anywhere. You look like a stranger in a solitary area, you leave items in the car, they see you put stuff in the trunk, you show your money and expensive items, you would then be targetted.

I always make it a point that anything expensive I put in the trunk for example, but I put it at home, then when I am up and around I only go in the trunk to get the item out, I put the item next to me when I am ready to return or in the trunk. Some will have items next to them, then at the beach, they put the items in the trunk and people are watching, when you leave the car, it is broken into because they know there is something of value there. People need money to feed their families, you may provide it for them. So use common sense and you will likely never have an issue, not just in Caguas but most anywhere.

Caguas has grown like the weeds it is not like it used to be, in some ways it is almost part of metro.