The information in this newsletter is current as of 6 PM on Thursday, January 9.
Over the past two days, two separate incidents of assault and attempted robbery from expats by two men riding a full-size motorcycle have been reported. They both occurred in the east side of Progreso in locations frequented by foreigners. The purpose of this Email is to provide information to our Beach Area News readers to make you aware of these situations, provide some tips on how to prevent being a victim of these types of crimes, and suggest what to do if something like this happens to you.
The first incident occurred on Wednesday January 8 and was reported in the Facebook group Yucatan Beach Friends. An expat woman was walking down the street from Crocodiles Restaurant on Calle 27 in the afternoon when a motorcycle came up from behind her and ripped her purse from her shoulder. There were two men on the motorcycle, both wearing full helmets with face plates. They grabbed her bag and sped away. Our understanding is the victim has not yet reported this incident to the police, but we hope that will happen, especially since a second, similar incident occurred the next day.
On Thursday, January 9 at around 10 AM, an expat woman was walking in the street on Calle 60 between Calles 25 and 27. She was carrying a bag over her shoulder on the street side. A full-size motorcycle carrying two men in full helmets with face plates came up behind her and tried to grab her bag, but were thwarted because the woman had a hot cup of coffee in her hand which spilled on the men. They pushed her down on the street and sped away, without her bag. This woman reported the incident to the police.
Because these two crimes appear to have been done by the same two men, targeting women walking and carrying purses, we felt it was important that the community be made aware of the situation through this Email. We also contacted our state and local government liaisons to make them aware of these two crimes and we requested increased police patrols in this area of Progreso.
Here are some suggestions to guard against this type of crime. First, try to walk on the sidewalk whenever possible. If you have to carry a purse, use a cross-body type of bag, as small as possible that doesn’t dangle on your shoulder. Don’t hold it street-side. Carry as few valuables as possible. Both of these incidents happened during the day, but as a general rule, if you walk at night, be with a buddy, not alone.
If you are the victim of robbery or an attempted robbery, call 9-1-1 right away. The police will come to get more information. But PLEASE take the time to also file a report at the Fiscalía Office in Yucalpetén. Information about how to do that is located on our website; download our Safety Leaflet here.. Only a report filed at the Fiscalía office will be considered as a valid report of a crime; unfortunately, the information gathered by the officers at the scene, as well as reports filed at any other police location, such as the tourism police office on the Malecón, do not count as an official crime report.
We all know that this is the safest area of Mexico, and we also know that crimes of opportunity happen every day, all over the world. But it is always upsetting when incidents like this happen in our own neighborhood. We encourage everybody to be extra aware of their surroundings during this snowbird season.