Is El Valle de Anton, Panama safe?

Due to the increasing interest in El Valle de Anton, not only by locals from the city but by tourists visiting the coast, the police force has recently been doubled.  There is a bank opening soon, so the thought is that this may attract a different type of delinquent, and for this reason a special motorcycle group has been installed just to keep an eye on things.

 

The normal problems here seem to be between locals, domestic violence is unfortunately an on-going...

Due to the increasing interest in El Valle de Anton, not only by locals from the city but by tourists visiting the coast, the police force has recently been doubled.  There is a bank opening soon, so the thought is that this may attract a different type of delinquent, and for this reason a special motorcycle group has been installed just to keep an eye on things.

 

The normal problems here seem to be between locals, domestic violence is unfortunately an on-going problem.  The occasional problem that touches the ex-pat community is burglary, usually when the property is vacant.  These burglaries are frequently local kids who are opportunistic, so the key is to be safe and make your home less attractive to the passing opportunist than others in the area.  Keep your bicycle chained up, and keep your license plate (yes bikes need a license plate - and a drivers license) up to date.  Crimes or violence against foreigners is rare, but there is an alcohol problem with the locals, so avoiding conflicts with these people when inebriated is common sense.
 

We visited El Valle last year and felt totally safe all the time. I understand that soon a bank will open and El Valle is getting more popular by tourists, so the situation might change, but for now, I think it is super safe!

We visited El Valle last year and felt totally safe all the time. I understand that soon a bank will open and El Valle is getting more popular by tourists, so the situation might change, but for now, I think it is super safe!

I would tell you that El Valle de Anton is safer then where your living right now. The people here are very laid back and don't like to get into it with others. Our gun crime is nothing; no one has been killed with a gun here since I have been here, 8 years.  No one has been raped.  Our crime is petty things.  Do we lock our homes?  Sure, light up the outside, even have bars on the windows and doors.  Why?  Well just because it hasn't happened...

I would tell you that El Valle de Anton is safer then where your living right now. The people here are very laid back and don't like to get into it with others. Our gun crime is nothing; no one has been killed with a gun here since I have been here, 8 years.  No one has been raped.  Our crime is petty things.  Do we lock our homes?  Sure, light up the outside, even have bars on the windows and doors.  Why?  Well just because it hasn't happened doesn't mean it never will.

Well, name a place that you can be assured is 100% free of any special circumstances..... maybe it doesn´t exist.  Miami, Chicago, Cape Cod, Oregon, and so many little towns around the world; it´s impossible for them to qualify as "crime free".

 

But in general, El Valle is considered to be a very safe place; attractive to visitors and a very picturesque town known for it´s beautiful flowers, birds,...

Well, name a place that you can be assured is 100% free of any special circumstances..... maybe it doesn´t exist.  Miami, Chicago, Cape Cod, Oregon, and so many little towns around the world; it´s impossible for them to qualify as "crime free".

 

But in general, El Valle is considered to be a very safe place; attractive to visitors and a very picturesque town known for it´s beautiful flowers, birds, butterflies, mountains, fog, excellent weather and warm people.

 

The locals, who are very sensitive people, are very much aware that visitors bring prosperity to the town, so the locals take very good care of all of the visitors, and try to make their stay very pleasant.  They do their best crafts, take pride in the knowledge of their surroundings, and make their best effort to insure that each visitor has the best experience.  This is especially true during the weekdays, when the town is not in full capacity, like it is on the weekends.

 

Lately, large groups of Latin American visitors, especially from South America love to come to El Valle, and visit "The Níspero", the local exotic birds and animal zoo and the orchids sanctuary, making El Valle more and more attractive.

  

The  Tourism Authority is also making its best effort to include new attractions and infrastructure in El Valle , as well as other methods to protect the environment, regulate tourism and noise, increase services, and increase the safety of foreign and local residents and maintain any type of crime at the very lowest rate possible.  However, it is not always possible to totally avoid everything.  As always, using  common sense is very wise.

 

El Valle de Anton is pretty safe. It is a Third World country and nothing’s ever completely safe, but compared to the rest of the world, I feel safe here.  In the United States, there is more police presence. In Panama, it’s a little bit different. You and your neighbors look out for one another, which is something that does not happen in the States, as much as it does here.

I was mugged once in the United States and thrice in Panama City. I have never been mugged in...

El Valle de Anton is pretty safe. It is a Third World country and nothing’s ever completely safe, but compared to the rest of the world, I feel safe here.  In the United States, there is more police presence. In Panama, it’s a little bit different. You and your neighbors look out for one another, which is something that does not happen in the States, as much as it does here.

I was mugged once in the United States and thrice in Panama City. I have never been mugged in El Valle. Like I said, my neighbors and I are very well acquainted with one another and we look out for one another. In other areas, people do not know and understand that you have to rely on your neighbors. I’ve heard a lot from other folks who are expats who come down to Panama and aren’t used to this sort of arrangement. They find themselves alone and stuck “out in the wind” and there is a greater chance of a crime being committed against them because they don’t have a good system around them. To get to know your neighbors, go up and introduce yourself. You’ll find that people are very receptive toward people who introduce themselves and want to know their neighbors.

I would tell anybody moving to Panama to get a dog, which is the best security system you can have in that world. Most thieves leave when they hear a dog. If the thief hears a dog and sticks around, there is something wrong with him mentally.