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Safety and the police
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Poverty and unemployment in Nicaragua have contributed to a rising crime rate.
Petty theft
is the most common form, especially on buses. Nicaraguans suffer from this as well as tourists, and locals take the usual precautions of not carrying anything valuable in an outside pocket, and spreading valuables and money over several pockets or purses; travellers should do the same. Opportunistic forms of theft aside, the only place where you need to worry about assault is in Managua. Here it's best not to walk around at night or to go out alone to bars or nightclubs, and be alert when leaving banks or casas de cambio, where thieves have recently targeted both foreigners and Nicaraguans. Never leave anything of value on the beach, even for a few minutes, as it is almost guaranteed to be stolen. Larger hotels will have safes where you can leave your passport and other valuables.
Women
should be wary of going out alone or even in a group at night - the chief threat is being harassed by drunken men spilling out of bars in groups.
The police in Nicaragua are generally reliable, except perhaps the traffic police (policia de trA?nsito ), who are infamous for their opportunistic targeting of foreigners and who will take any chance to give you a fine ( multa ). To report a crime you must go to the nearest police station. If you need a police report for an insurance claim, the police will ask you to fill out a denuncia - a full report of the incident. If the police station does not have the denuncia forms, ask for a constancies , a simpler form, signed and stamped by the police. This should be sufficient for an insurance claim. Visitors to Nicaragua must carry their passport on them at all times. A photocopy is acceptable; police checks are not as common as they used to be. Keep passports secure in an inside pocket all the time, and keep a photocopy separately when travelling.
In an
emergency
, dial 128 for the Red Cross (Cruz Roja); 115 for fire (
bomberos
); 118 for police; or 119 in the case of a traffic accident. Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
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Nicaragua |