'Crime Free'? No, but Reasonable!

City dwellers....

One of the first questions visitors and prospective residents ask: “And the violence?”

Biolent crime on the Peninsula de Marau is very rare. Paulistas and Cariocas increasingly seek the Península as a holiday destination, and not incidentally a refuge from crime. Afterall, nothing is more important while on vacation. Urban congestion, haphazard built form, visual, aural and olfactory pollution- we all need a reprieve from time to time. Not to mention from urban violence.


Paulistas and Cariocas are the first to inquire. An important question for visitors from most of the world’s cities. Thankfully it one which is easy to forget on the Peninsula. Crime is not completely unknown: petty theft, pilferage, removal of gasoline near access to Camamú Bay, a forgotten tool or wallet gone, a few bananas missing from an open dune buggy parked in the Vila (Barra Grande).

Why is violent crime so unusual on the Peninsula?

First, the sophisticated traveler realizes that relative isolation and limited access are important. They are guarantees AGAINST crime, not an incentive. Those seeking relocation and quality of life seek the Golden Ring of security. Unpaved roads and sparse population discourage camp followers like thieves, prostitutes, bandidos, drug dealers. Naturally this crowd go for the most fertile markets: cities and heavily developed coastal paradises with easy access. From a criminal's point of view, why bother with an out of the way place like the Península de Maraú? Beach resorts and hotel with easy access, paved roads and significant population centers are much easier and more productive. Easy targets make life easier.

Secondly, the geography: Maraú is a Peninsula. In fact, it is virtually an island, bordered by the Atlantic on one side, Brazil’s third largest bay, the Baia de Camamú, on the other, the River das Contas at Itacaré the obstacle at its base.

Contrary to conventional wisdom, walls do not exclude criminals. Walls create prisons, to a thief, and the automatic fear of entrapment once the crime has been commited. It's easy to find a way over or around a wall before the break in. But when it comes time to run for it, walls mean serious anxiety.

The same thing is true here. How does a criminal make a getaway following 'the score'? 'The Highway We Love to Hate' (BR 030) is quite an obstacle to the getaway: Police in Itacare and Ubaitaba can be alerted in plenty of time to corral an infractor before he has had time to exit the Peninsula. He'll need 2 hours for this, unless he has a boat or plane. Cars, TV’s, stereos, etc are hard to schlep down the Peninsula at 5-15 mph. Stolen checks and credit cards can be cancelled in plenty of time.

With easy pickings at popular beach resorts such as Buzios, Arraial d’Juda, Porto Seguro, Trancoso- a criminal has to ask himself: “Why bother with the Península?”

Indeed!

Still, residents, pousada and restaurant owners know it will not always be this way. Eventually the Península will be less tranquil than today. A movement exists on the Península to install a portal or gate transforming the Peninsula into a sort of 50 km long gated community. Under the plan, tourist police manning the gate on the highway south of Maraú would note license plate numbers, ID’s, offer travel tips and distribute tour information and brochures. Departure from the Peninsula would also be monitored.

Good idea. Let’s hope it doesn't become necessary.