There is no shortage of corrupt police offers in Costa Rica, thats for sure. Many police offers will target tourist strictly for a bribe, or because they have nothing better to do. I am being completely honest here. Police here tend to be a little more forgiving with their country men because they know most of them cant afford such tickets or cant afford to offer a bribe. Since tourists are the main target of the polices boredom, that leaves one to wonder what they can do about it.
One would think that if you were following the rules that the police would have no reason to bother you, not so in Costa Rica. Police will pull you over because they feel like it and then make up a crime you committed such as speeding or running a red light. (Something every Costa Rican does on a daily basis.) All you can really do when encountering the police is keep your fingers crossed. Other than dumb luck, there are a few things you can do to aid yourself in getting out of a ticket.
Play Dumb
One of the easiest things to do to get out of a ticket is to play dumb. If you don’t speak Spanish then this should be as easy as pie. If you do speak Spanish, resist the urge to argue or talk back. In fact, use this to your advantage by understanding what the officer is saying and then respond with something completely off topic in English. If you are lucky, the police officer will get annoyed with you and just send you on your way.
Bribing a Transito Officer
It is important to point out that the only offers you should try to bribe are the transit police. Remember that bribing police is illegal and should be done at your own risk. You should never try to bribe the actual police.
Many times when a transit police officer pulls you over they will be looking for easy money. They will most likely say that your fine for the crime committed is $50 to $100 and must be paid on the spot. This is of course not by the book, but the officer looking for a quick buck.
If this is the case, here is what you can do:
Tell the officer you are very sorry and that you would love to pay directly, but only have 10,000 Colones (US $20). This is usually enough to make the problem go away, but some officers are greedy.
If you decide to offer a bribe, be sure to be very discreet about it. If you are to direct or insulting, the officer will mostly take your money and then give you a ticket for offering a bribe to a police officer.
{ 7 comments }
I have lived in Costa Rica for 3 years and I have never been targeted for a bribe.
In fact, one time I was pulled over for speeding in a rental car. I was speeding, so I wasn’t being targeted.
Sure, they will take money under the table. But in this case I told him I had no money and he let me go with a warning. Nice! Thanks!
Lived here over two years but spent a couple of months a year here for 22 years.
Never saw that happen. Maybe if you look like a crackhead or rapper ??? LOL.
Ha ha ha, playing dumb may be a really effective way to fool the officers but I guess it requires some practice preferably in from of the mirror. Interesting topic. Thank you for the article. You made my day :).
I am not sure it’s a good thing to “promote” such practices, even they’re happening in a poor or corupted country. You can place in a bad light all the cops there, and i’m sure is not like this.
My husband & I just returned from Costa Rica last week. We were pulled over for “speeding.” The officer immidiately confiscated my husband’s passport & driver’s license & thretenned everything from throwing him in jail for three days to impounding our rental car. He said our fine would be $300. As soon as we presented a $100 bill (US), he shook our hands, returned the passpost & sent us on our way. We later learned from locals that the going bribe was $20…wish someone would have told us.
extremely corrupt, I paid $100 twice in 2 days. I know all you hippies that have lived there for years don’t believe it, but this is a recent advancement in the corruption of costa Rica. Look dumb dumbs, they target groups of American tourists in cars, not you potheads that ride the bus, so stop defending Costa Rica, it’s a super corrupt place with beautiful sights and friendly citizens.
Just back from CR. A wonderful time, spoilt only by 2 corrupt policemen. $20 was clearly required, but I was not speeding. Shame I can not find an CR police anti-corruption contact address.
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