I have lived in Maranatha and Bella Vista for the past two years without incident. Maranatha is a small bedroom community in Sosúa.
We have neighborhood watch. The monitoring system is basically grandmothers that peer out their windows and communicate with other with WhatsApp.
I have come home to be asked, "Did you find everything that you needed in Charamicos?" without telling anyone where I was going.
Bella Vista is south of Maranatha and in the country-side. I wouldn't want to have a home there that was too far from my neighbors because there wouldn't be anyone to keep an eye on the property.
Charamicos, on the west end of Sosúa Beach, is a lively community but is crowded, which creates difficulty supervising the numerous adolescents and young adults.
The only place that I have seen young people fight is in Charamicos. Such behavior would not be tolerated in Maranatha.
I am much more cautious in tourist areas because that is where the extranjeros can be found and that is an attraction to thieves and hustlers.
I was visiting a friend this week in La Cienga, Cabarete, and there weren't any people on the street waiting to find a foreigner to "help" because there weren't any other foreigners. I am much safer in that environment.
My suggestion is always be kind but never nice and be aware of your surroundings