March Against Drugs and Crime

Locals walked the main strip of Jaco this afternoon in a united effort to protest the crime and drugs here. They began at the Municipal and walked to the opposite end of town, ending at the Best Western Hotel. Officials met at the hotel to address this escalating problem. The new Chamber of Commerce was behind organizing the march.

We had three MURDERS just last week. Lately, every time I go to town, someone tells me about being robbed. It has gotten WAY OUT OF CONTROL. This time of year (rainy) is considered the "slow time" for tourism and the robberies typically increase. A lot of people are out of work. I call it "the rats are out", especially when it rains. Now, the rats are using guns and knives. Some clever (non-confrontation) rats
gas a house before they rob it. When the owners awake, they realize they were robbed. They also poison dogs before a robbery. Robberies increase during the rain because the rain muffles the sound of glass breaking, they're not easily seen, etc. Robbery is reaching a new professional level here.

We finally have a serious developer that is changing the face of Jaco in more ways than one. He paid for the pot-hole ridden road on the Jaco strip to be repaved. A real PRO job. Not like the usual muni-guys with brooms, shovels and buckets of asphalt (or whatever). Around here, when the roads get too horrible, the taxis go on strike until the Municipality does something. It's usually a band aid job. This is the same developer that has organized our new Chamber of Commerce. He has seven major condominium projects on Jaco Beach at present. Clearly, he has a vested interest in seeing Jaco improve.

I was resistant to the radical change of Jaco's skyline with all this new construction. I wanted things to stay the same and Jaco to stay small. That is just not going to happen. At least someone is putting up the money to give Jaco a chance to survive it's inevitable growth. (Double edged sword)

Fact is: The more money that comes here, the more rats that will come for the money.

Photo of Jaco Street
June 2004 (left)
June 2006 (right)