just been hanging out in peru for about six weeks. when we spoke to them, we found the police to be without exception polite and easy to deal with. they offered help (not needed), stopped us to chat a few times, and even called their colleagues on the road ahead to give us the green light on a stretch of road said to be dangerous because of banditry. we were asked just once (at the border with bolivia) for a 'donation', and my refusal was taken well.

most of the cops we saw in peru were asleep in their toyotas, maybe waiting for somebody to issue them with a radar gun or something.

you can also avoid contact with the police by hiding your bike behind another, larger vehicle, until you are too close to the cops for them to do anything. i did this a bit in the danger area north of lima, of course will never know how well it worked but we were not pulled over there.

cheers,
andy.

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www.outforaspin.blogspot.com

So playing stupid, broke, touched in the head and happy seems to work well good thing Im not to far off from it normally.

Don't know if it's different being female but I've had my fair share of guns being pushed against me from thieving police ... I'm also tall which might make a difference. Most of my problems have been in Africa but also in Central America & Asia with Mexican/Mongolian/Chinese/Russian border police etc.

1. I refuse to speak any of my other languages than my mother tongue (English). I try to remember that I don't understand what the French speaking police are saying. I smile, shrug my shoulders and turn away/ignore them even when they've remembered the English word 'money'. Sometimes this works first off.

2. I have every piece of ID going, all falsely photocopied. Hand over my driving licence, the works (despite never driving myself), got caught out once when they then demanded an AIDS certificate!!!

3. I usually have the name of the Ambassador from the previous country where I picked up my visa, plus the number of the Embassy if I can ... I tell them that I will call the Ambassador in pidgeon English to check to see if this is correct to be asking for more money. There has been several occasions when I've met high ranking military officers along the road & I get their name, rank & phone number, that's worked a treat too. Or I've made up my own details!

4. Lastly, in desperation I call their bluff. I walk out, leaving all my ID with them including my passport. I tell them I'm going to the capital and will find the person in charge and get them & my own Embassy (there aren't that many Irish Embassies in the world, but they don't know!) to investigate why I HAD TO leave my ID with some jumped up little border guard. I've done this probably 4/5 times and it's worked - they mull it over and then come shooting out of their office calling me back

I have paid ONE bribe in my life, due to having a 12yr old child with me & we'd already been rattled by a drunk soldier who wanted to keep her, I will NEVER pay anymore bribes ...

The more YOU pay bribes the more WE have to pay ... DON'T DO IT!

Kira

Glad i found this thread with the search engine. Yesterday i was pulled over a total of SIX TIMES! Between Trujillo and Lima. The police here are an absolute mennace! I'm sick and tired of fighting with them, i spent well over two hours dealing with their BS. Each time they had at least two or three of the locals pulled over, and every time the cop showed me their stack of licences they had confiscated that day. They had radar in one spot also, i could see the trap from another vehicle ahead. When the cop was talking to me, his cell phone went off and i could here Carro rojo, ciento diez! Sure enough the red car came ripping around the corner and right into the trap. At one point, there were so many cars and trucks stacked up on the side of the road it looked like a police counterattack alcohol check like in BC. I'm so sick and tired of this crap i don't even wanna ride here any more! I'm sure the locals are gonna revolt! They need to pay for their licences if they don't have anything to bribe with at the time, and thats about 170 soles! Granted, every time the cops have been very respectful with me, and three times only wanted to chat. One time the guy had me for speeding, my fault! I was going way over the limit and crossed a double yellow, just to pass a line of trucks. In my country this would of cost me well over $100, yesterday it only cost me $10. Yup. i've said over and over, don't pay, but the truth is i did break their law, and it was the fifth time that day, i had no fight left in me. This is the second time i've travelled through this country, and all i feel right now is PERU SUCKS! When in Lima, i'm going to file a complaint to the tourism board, if they have one!

Also watch out in Barranca north of Lima, the cops there have a tendancy to trump up bogus speeding charges despite not having any evidence!

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Mike


www.singapore-scotland.blogspot.com
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My little Vid: India/Pakistan

BMW R1150GS
Suzuki DR650 SE: Ride it like ya stole it. Oh, somebody just did...

I got caught at the same place a few months ago by probably the same cop or his brother in his uniform!! Who's to know? I was running late as usual with a deep rooted hangover after a few days drinking in Huaraz with Marcello in Vagamundo bar. He had warned me about them & said dont pay them anything apart from say 5 Soles as a gift for a drink for being brave enough to stand that heat. It was getting dark & I did not fancy getting into Lima at night & trying to find a hostel, so I kind of lost it in a nice way.

As I am from Indian origion but brought up in the UK I started to bullshit the copper. I said to him here take my keys & keep my bike. My farther is the Indian High comissioner to Lima from India & that his people will come to pick my bike up. I started to write down the car details names etc in my book, & started calling any number in my phone that did not work or have a sim in it. Soon for a possible fear of a diplomatic incident or just being bored of my rant, or not understanding a word of my Spanish he said bugger of in a nice way.

Off I went on my way but did notice a few waves from the other cops ahead on the same road.

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If life gives you lemons then make lemonade & find a friend whose life gave then Vodka & have a party. Mojo

Gold!!!!!

Well done. Big up for not putting up with their bullshit. Good example for those who prefer to pay these idiots encouraging corruption in a foreign country.
Sound like you had a bit of fun with it as well. I know I do....

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Tacos Tyring Travels.com

Interesting. I am on my way down south and will go through Peru in about two weeks time, and is not looking forward to it. I hate cops, let alone corrupt ones. I dont speak Spanish, so will conveniently not understand a word they say, and see what hapenes. I normaly speaks Afrikaans (My home language)to them to make a point I also might not understand English. This normaly confuse them completely, and let me go.
I also dont pay a a thing, never have never will!
We will see.

Johan

This thread was a ton of help before I got to Lima. Basically on my way from Huarez to Lima, I was on high alert.

I was riding with my german friend and had advised him on the corrupt police. Our plan that generally worked was to tuck in behind trucks so they couldn't see us.

We got stopped a couple of times as we were in the open and I followed the basic procedure that Laserjock outlined: Be super polite and let them know you have all the time in the world.

I'd start with introducing myself and riding buddy, then proceed to tell them how the women of Peru are much prettier than ecuador... just keep on BSing about girls and machismo things. It was pretty silly, but fun. We didn't even get asked for money. The key is to dominate the conversation, IMO. Once the pleasantries are done, ask for directions.. start pointing to maps.. Then once you're done with getting your directions, leave!

All-in-all, yeah, the police are a PITA north of peru. But in my experience, once you're south of peru.. no problems at all. All the police checkpoints I encountered afterwards were easy with no problems. They had no intention of asking for money. just the usual how fast/how much questions

Enjoy the ride! I'd rather be riding in Peru than sitting at the office any day!

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http://davegtravels.com - RTW on a DRZ
All the way south - Texas to Tierra del Fuego in '08-'09

Just made it back to Lima from Trujillo, no problems. I found that the buses are exempt, so following them closely saved a lot of time. Another thing, turn off your head light! Peruanos don't drive with their lights on, and flash you if you do. Although the speed limits are artificially low, i followed them most of the time and had no problems, just friendly conversations. I was pulled over three more times in two days with no infractions. If they catch you speeding, crossing a double solid, or generally breaking the law, expect them to be a**holes! They will do everything they can to get paid.