The Puerto Rico Senate has approved a resolution ordering an investigation into crime affecting tourists in Condado, Santurce, Isla Verde, Old San Juan and Miramar, citing armed robberies, a $60,000 casino theft and a string of burglaries and carjackings.
Senate Resolution 594, filed Sept. 4 by Sen. Nitza Morán-Trinidad “by request,” directs the Senate’s Public Safety and Economic Development committees to review crime statistics, tourism-area security plans, patrol resources, and coordination between state police, municipal police and tourism officials. The full Senate has already approved the measure.
The resolution cites media reports of armed motorcyclists robbing tourists in Condado and Santurce, the theft of $60,000 in casino winnings from a Condado hotel guest, burglaries involving high-value goods, sexual assaults, and carjackings in the metro area in which victims were forced to withdraw money from their own accounts.
Lawmakers will also review the location, operation and maintenance of panic buttons and security cameras in Condado, Isla Verde, Old San Juan, Miramar and Santurce, and examine whether hotels should be formally included in the tourism zones covered by the Puerto Rico Police Bureau’s security plan.
Short-term rentals under review
The investigation will also look at short-term rentals, which now make up about 56% of Puerto Rico’s lodging supply, up from 34% in 2019. AirDNA counted 9,641 active listings in San Juan and 1,027 in Carolina as of August. The resolution says these properties operate in the same tourism districts as hotels without the same security controls.
The measure points to steps San Juan has already taken, including the new Miramar Sur Municipal Police precinct and what it describes as a $1.6 million investment in patrol vehicles, drones and equipment. It also cites recommendations from the Puerto Rico Hotel & Tourism Association, including restoring the tourism police unit’s nighttime shift and increasing patrol presence.
If approved, the committees could hold public hearings, subpoena witnesses and documents, and issue interim and final reports with recommendations by the end of the Senate’s Seventh Regular Session.
Related coverage: Tourist Robberies Keep Tracing Back to the Same San Juan Precinct
Sources: Senate Resolution 594 (Puerto Rico Senate), News Is My Business
