Peru : Lots more hassle from Police ?
 

I´ve searched the HUBB posts & cant find anything related to this (given slow speed of this connection)

Last night in Cali I was talking to 2 guys who have just ridden north through Peru & they were very keen not to go back.

- one guy was handcuffed to the police car whilst they searched his baggage
- when stopped, the other guy had a copper jump on his bike & ride off, returning an hour later having rifled his baggage.
- generally stopped very frequently & harrassed, the implication being that money was required

Whilst not wishing to offend anyone, we´d had some beers & maybe this was biggin it up.

Anyone had any experiences that they´d care to share, good, bad or ugly ? and any tips for avoiding the ugly ? (aside from less beer !)

I was lookin fwd to riding through Peru & your valued opinions will help.

Cheers
Scouse

Peru was the only place on my RTW ride that I paid a bribe. There were several of us on bikes, but spead out by hours. Everyone got stopped in the same place going into Lima. The key was to bargain hard. The fine started at $100 and I saw a German couple pay $60. I was quite proud of myself for getting it down to $7.00 only to meet one of my friends in town who got it down to four!

Yep, around Lima is bad. Just north of Lima cops pulled me over and wanted $100. I got them down to $33 (now wish I had bargained harder). Went 2 miles further and cops waved me over but I ignored them. 25 miles further I was waved over by a cop with a machine gun/assault rifle or something who was mad as hell (I think he got word from the cops I ignored). I kept saying "no entiendo" (basically true) until he was so frustrated he waved me on. A couple miles further on my electric starter went out on the Pan-Am leaving me stuck. That kind of day.
Took some back roads and every village, no matter how small, had a cop waiting on the outskirts in a new Landcruiser waiting to snag me. The speed limits were artificially low. I liked Peru but the corrupt, lowlife cops kept me on edge, unable to fully enjoy the country, wondering when I was going to be framed for something. I wish the government gave a damn.

Why do you pay
 

Hi
My friend and i rode all over Peru, we were stopped mostly on the coast roads 2 or 3 time's a day, we had a fair few arguments with the police over diffrent charges, speeding, crossing the white line. But never once did we pay any fines or bribes, you have to tough it out with them, one police officer tryed to take are passports i just grabbed them from his hand passed my friends back to her and said lets go and we rode off the officer standing there scratching his head. I work bloody hard for my money so there is no way i will be just giving it away on a whim to some one in a uniform. If you have broken the law fair enough you put your hands up and pay for your mistakes, but if you have not then why pay. If you have payed a bribe or so called fine did you get a recipt no then it went in the guys back pocket. For all of you who have payed bribes and fines no matter how big or small, it just makes it a hell of a lot harder for the people who now follow you into Peru, ever time the police see a biker they see a two wheel cash machine. I had a great time in Peru and would go back tomorrow. Skip

Interpol
 

Hi Mollydog,
Interpol are not immune and are part of the problem.
Here, in Europe, they are something of a joke:-

BBC NEWS | Africa | Interpol's head 'to be charged'

Peru
 

Interpol is not interested in local police corruption and the reporting to the Peruvian police doesn't help since they are all corrupt. Well, I am sure there are exceptions but they are certainly not going to take any corrective action.

I love Peru but my ride from Huarez to Lima was the one day I hated the country. In Huarez I got stopped for insurance but was let off. Then from the turn onto the Panam south from Route 14 at Paramonga I was stopped four times by the police before I reached Lima. In Lima I was stopped because my rear tire was one the sidewalk as I was looking at a map. I know at least three other people who were stopped at the same locations on the Panam north of Lima.

I didn't pay any bribes but I came close. I just waited and pretended I didn't understand and just kept saying 'no'. They did take my passport and license but I was always able to get it back. I have multiple licenses and confiscating the passport is a serious issue. I would go straight to my embassy if my passport was taken and I think the problem would be taken very seriously. You might want to carry a notarized copy to give to the cops.

I try not to get off the bike or even shut off the motor, although after the first couple of times I got very 'comfortable' and got off the bike and offered them cigarettes.

Get the name of the officers and take down the plate numbers of their vehicles.

Do not think you can just ride by them. They are spread out and all have cell phones. Besides, they usually stand in the middle of the road forcing you to stop.

Although I managed to get through without paying it cost me an extra 5 hours. I waited over 2 hours at one stop. If you real feel like you need to get out I would keep it under US$10. But please try not to pay them anything they are real scum. Give yourself extra time and consider it a game that you will win and give you some good stories. :)

Above all do not let any of this stop you from going to Peru!!!

Coming south through Peru on the PanAm about 4-5 weeks ago, I had no bad experiences with the police. From memory, I was only stopped twice in the whole country, if that! Just checked my passport and let me go on.:thumbup1:

Insurance? I can't remember even having insurance, let alone being asked for it by Police!:confused1:

Margaret

I've been in Peru for over a year in total & ridden to most places - never had any hassles from the police and very rarely stopped.

I have a loud bike, disregard their stupidly low speed limits and ride like a local - things that would get me arrested & locked up back home. I like it here :-)

I've been driving through Peru for the past three months, and though I'm stopped plenty, haven't had any problems, just asked for my papers and that's it. Much easier I thought, than Colombia, where I didn't pay bribes either, but had constant problems with the military... Only was asked once for a bribe and that was Honduras. After 45 minutes of back and forth, I was on my way, no bribes paid.
Lorraine

Bribes breed corruption
 

I have to agree with the others
Bribes breed corruption. I will sit all damn day and refuse to Pay.

NO way would any Copper who was bent get a penny out of me.:nono:


On the other hand, If I have broken the law ( parking/ speeding etc) and I cant talk my way out of it, (I wont bribe, let em work for their money like I had to ) If Im gonna get a written or printed ticket with a Reciept, fair Do's...... I will pay the fine......Begrudgingly like, but I will pay.

You just gotta have the 'Cojones' to tough it out and make em sweat..... They are after 'easy' cash, they Do Not want fuss, they don't want to give a receipt and they don't want you to take their picture either! :eek3:

Martyn

Thanks for the posts, it certainly does seem like there´s an increase in police harrassment.

I totally agree re recording where these incidents occur, and trying to do something with it, unfortunately ceverza killed those cells that night.

However, when I get stopped I will note down the names, numbers, registrations & location, including any "ínfringement". And whilst I´m keen on wealth redistribution, reducing 3rd world debt and fair trade for all, this doesnt include giving presents to coppers´... Liverpool is not known for it´s friendly coppers either !

so will do my best :)
Scouse

I agree with you completley. Every time a foreign motorcyclist pays a bribe it makes it that much harder for the rest of us. I have been stopped in many countries and asked for bribes, but I always wait the police out. In Nicaragua I accidentally went the wrong way down a one way street and was pulled over. All I had was my passport and they asked me to pay a bribe. It took an hour of arguing and creative story telling but I didn´t pay anything.

insurance
 

OK, three months in Peru and just had the insurance dilemma at a town called La Joya (sP?) near Arequipa. I assumed it was a bribe I was being asked for, and immediatly asked, "Do you want money?" To which the police was totally pissed off, pulled out his wallet and showed me he HAD money. I was insistent I had all the correct paperwork. Then one of my dogs began barking at him, and he eventually made it known he was totally disgusted with me and waved me on. Now, at a HUBB friend's house in Arequipa, who tells me it actually IS a new law to have insurance, the same as the SOAT in Colombia, but it's rarely enforced. You can buy it at gas stations. Since I'm almost through the country, I'll probably do my best to not pay....HappyHacker says, if you get it, the one to get from SOAT is LaPositiva. $60 for a year, possibly not a shorter period of time.
Lorraine

Yep, on the Pan Am just north of Lima. That's where we all got stopped.

I was talking to a guy in Quito who's brother was a cop there. He never intended to be corrupt, but his claim was that they set the salary impossibly low, knowing that you are going to supplement it with road side harasment thereby forcing you to do so just to get by. Dunno if that's true but it wouldn't suprise me.

We got pulled just outside of Barranca, north of Lima on the way to Huaraz. We were erm, 'speeding' apparently.

Think it seems to be a bit of a hotspot round there for these type of cops.