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The security you've observed is normal and is also something to worry about. Although saying so may upset some of our fellow contributors, rates for burglaries and violent crime are statistically much higher in Puerto Rico than in the States.

At a minimum, buy a good guard dog, although I say that knowing that I have had Puerto Rican friends with excellent guard dogs who were burglarized after the thieves first poisoned the animals. A good rule of thumb is that if your dog dies a mysterious and painful death, be prepared for someone to be climbing over your fence within a few nights.

[I've just re-read the above and please excuse my comment if it sounds menacing. I just want to give you my honest impression.]

Wow, so you have lived there for a while and have seen this happen?

Yes, unfortunately that has actually happened. To make the story even worse, one of my friends who was burglarized after his dog was poisoned was a cop, everyone in the neighborhhod knew he was a cop, and yet that didn't deter some crackheads with ties to the area breaking into his house four times in one year (and they knew he was home when they did it three of those times).

I'd like to add something constructive to this thread, but as it involves crime in Puerto Rico, there really isn't anything positive to say.

Hi Kellysan!

NomadLawyer is right when he says that violent crime is higher in Puerto Rico than in any state of the USA. What he forgot to tell you is that the crime rate is not uniform throughout the island. This is a murder map of the island by one of the local newspapers.

http://especiales.primerahora.com/mapaasesinatos/

As you can see, while the metropolitan area is crowded with murder markers Isabela only has two. One of the murders in Isablela was a result of domestic violence and the other victim was a security guard. The northwest, southwest, and center of the island is lot safer than Bayamón, San Juan, etc. NomadLawyer lives in San Juan. Think of the crime rate in the state of Michigan vs. the crime rate in the city of Detroit.

If you look at the map you'll also notice that most victims are young men in their 20s. Most murders in the island are the result of the drug trade.

If you stay outside of the drug trade and if you live in Isabela you might not even need a dog. Except for a garden hose and a few stolen plants my parents have been safe in San Lorenzo for over 70 years without dogs. But they do have a few ferocious killer chickens and cats! (There are many strays. You might end up with a guard dog by accident.)

tldr: Crime rate is high in Puerto Rico. It is mostly drug trade related. Not all towns are equally affected. The northwest is relatively safe.

Thank you for the information, very helpful.

I don't know if you can read Spanish, Kellysan, but here is a link to a list of towns with the highest percentage of break-ins in Puerto Rico as of Q1 of 2011:

http://www.elnuevodia.com/islanenaencab … 24395.html

(Google Translator is not too bad if you need it translated.)

Unfortunately, many country towns/areas suffer from high rates of property crime. My story about the cop and the poisoned dog did not take place in the metropolitan area or on one of the smaller islands such as Vieques, where property crime is now epidemic.

The criminal justice system here is in shambles. Crimes are rarely solved and even when they are, the outcome is nearly always entirely inadequate. This results in a high percentage of repeat offenders (of even violent crimes) free to wreck havoc on the general population. If a murder is not due to domestic violence, it usually goes unsolved. Likewise, even burglars that get caught usually get off with a slap on the wrist and are soon back to their work. Criminals act with a sense of impunity, which is logical under the circumstances.

As always, adolfojp makes good points in his comment. For example, I continue to live here in spite of this situation. Life goes on. But I strongly caution you: Don't underestimate the role that crime plays in affecting the quality of life in Puerto Rico.