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.

Understanding the Good the Bad and the Truth about Police
 

For your consideration and advice on avoiding tickets and bribes.

My thoughts regarding the existence of bad, corrupt
police that not only instigate crime but commit crimes
themselves exactly mirror my thoughts regarding
humanity in general.

Here is what I believe. I believe survival on this
planet is much more difficult than it has to be
because of a very few really bad people. Somewhere
around 80% of all human beings are not only surviving
but actively assisting others to survive. This vast
majority of people believe they can make it and others
can make it too, and if they can lend a hand to
others, they will. and when others do well in life it
is no threat to them. These are people who can start,
change and stop their behaviors at will, These are
"normal" people who understand the anatomy of control.
Which is of course the ability to start, change or
stop.

Now in order to understand the police one must
understand the main function of the police, which is
to prevent or stop things from happening. .
Therefore, after a while as a police officers who is
Repetitively preventing or stopping things, surrounded
by other police officers who are stopping things too,
he or she if not already having been selected by the
police application procedures as a stopper, becomes a
stopper.

Society needs, as part of its control responsibily,
stoppers.

I have successfully avoided several speeding tickets
by simply sitting in the car with bowed head and
saying to the police officer now at my car window...,
"we really need to stop speeders, don't we"
Immediately their was such affinity and apparent
sharing of reality the officer would not or could
not give me a ticket. I have passed this on to many
others and all who have tried it, have confirmed my
results.

Unfortunately, some police, (cultures designated
stoppers) have also been involved in situations where
their very life depended on their ability of stopping
something from happening. This confirms the fact to
them that their very life depends on their ability to
stop things.

I believe, and this is validated by actual statistics
of police corruption, much goes unreported, that
between 5 and 6% of US police are corrupt and
committing crimes against society. This group of bad
police contaminate and recruit from the other 15% or
so of the police who do not fall into the 80% I
believe are good people doing a tough job to the best
of their ability.

Unfortunately, the best "stoppers" are the ones who
get promoted and assume the leadership over large
groups of other police. Now remember, police in
general are not starters nor changers, just look at
the stats on any activity started and run by police
like Project DARE which has, by carefully weighted
scientific statistics created more drug use and drug dealing
thanwould have been expected if the program did not exist.
this is fact. Or, consider the comical failures of every
police run community event, they can't even have their
own athletic leagues or police balls (social events)
picnics etc...because they are all trying to stop
these things from happening. I am not inventing this,
several reputable books have been written on this very
topic.

I am not sure we can even expect our police to be the
innovative starters and changers of societal behavior,
but if there is anything, even things beneficial
starting or even beneficial changings occuring in a
community you can expect the police to be right on
the scene to stop it. The court systems which also operate
as stoppers of behavior, not starters of good behavior nor
changers of society for the better.

So to directly answer your question for both North
America and Argentina I believe about 5% of the police
are corrupt and committing crimes against society and
that about 15% are in some way involved by the crime
of omission (not reporting the bad police) or minimal
participation in the commission of crimes against
society, and 80% are good men and woman trying to do
what is right.

One might say 80% really want to help others survive.

I am, in the final analysis a starter of projects and
a changer and yes, if I have to I can stop things too,
so by nature I have very little in common with the
police, and represent a threat to them once they get
to know me. You might be a threat to police if you
appear to be anything but a stopper too.

This might be a good time to point out that I do agree
that every culture needs stoppers, This is an
unfortunate reality that has been created by a
relatively few really bad people.

And, look what
happened to Senator Robert Kennedy because, as United
States Attorney General, he was prosecuting the
mafia/police connections in various cities throughout
North America. Even the stoppers get stopped.

There is a wealth of documentation
about this existing corrupt connection between governments
and mafia, the police are just caught in the middle.

I have no need or desire to be creative to be creative here,
the truth is strange enough. xfiltrate

I agree completely with Skip - why do people pay these "fines"? If there is a genuine offense committed then fair enough but some of the outrageous fines that these cops try on foreign motorists are obvious scams. Some locals would never earn as much in a month or more. Some travelers are so damned stupid in this regard that I have little sympathy for them but do for the next guy that comes by. What motivates this eagerness to pay?

I had no real problems in Central and South America and this came as a surprise given the number of posts on the subject of corruption.

Whether this one counts as a scam I don't really know. The border between El Salvador and Honduras cost me $50 which I am led to believe is higher than you are supposed to pay officially - not really sure which category this one falls into. This was always a notoriously dirty border a couple of years back.

I have a couple of things I do to keep on the side of the cops. Firstly I tell them I am a cop back in the UK - this develops a mutual understanding and respect from whoever you are dealing with. Apparently I can look a bit like a rozzer (suitable height, no pony tail etc etc).

My second recommendation is to keep a good selection of documents - colour scanned copies in your riding jacket pocket. That way you don't need to get off the bike and gives them something to keep them occupied. This one works really well. I had the misfortune to have a serious accident in Chile that resulted in my license being taken by the local police until the matter came to court. I had to ultimately leave the country without a license but despite another 5 months in South America in Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil, Uruguay, Venezuela and Colombia I never needed the original again.

Peru was fine for me - hardly got stopped at all. The north east of Argentina was the most obvious attempt at corruption but it was really rare in my experience. The old white sheet and fire extinguisher trick. It's just not convincing but I met a German biker who had just handed over $200US!! as I was pulled over. We talked about life as a cop in the UK and shook hands and that was it. So I left 16 months in South America without paying a bribe or silly fine.

I do wonder though what would happen if you refused to pay in certain circumstances.......

Have a good time in Peru - some damned good riding to be had there.

Depends on the situation...
 

In all my travels in L.America, i've paid a total of three bribes for a total of about $73. The first was in Panama for speeding. I was clocked doing 110 KPH in a 60 zone and was written an $80 ticket. I convinced the officer to write me a cheaper ticket for $25. I call it a bribe because i think the officer likely kept the money for himself. The second was in Colombia for not having the required insurance. It's cheaper to bribe the police than it is to buy the insurance. It cost me $23 for over 2 months of riding. The latest was recently while entering Mexico City. I was pulled over and surrounded by four cops on bikes. They demanded $300, i paid $25. This was fear induced, i didn't believe they were cops. Fake police is a well known problem in DF, $25 was a small price to pay to get out of what could of been a really BAD situation. If i break the law, i'll pay a fine or a bribe...thats just what you do down here. Corruption started with the church over 500 years ago, it's just the way things are and it's best to work within the system. If a cop tries to extort money from me and my life doesn't feel in danger, then i refuse to pay, or play the game so to speak. I always carry documents that are easily sacrificeable, and never give my passport. Just refuse! Give them a copy or another form of ID, or insist on going to the hotel or police station and show it there. Don't let them search your bags, insist you go the the station first. The most common trick is "eg. Nicaragua.. you will have to pick up your licence in Managua and pay a fine... or you can pay me and i'll give you your licence now. "
"No, keep the licence, i'll go to Managua tomorrow." They really hate that! I carry two IDL's for this reason and just show them the expired one...they're usually too stupid to figure it out. Let them keep the licece, or just before you leave, ask for it back. They gave me mine! It's way too easy to just say DON'T PAY! It's also pretty easy to slag those who do, but every situation is different, and if your really breaking the law, well, what would you expect of others traveling in your own country?

I'm with you here. I am weary of reading posts from those who "would never pay a bribe no matter what." Notwithstanding the general rules for negotiating such matters—don't be in a hurry, treat it like a game, feign indifference and absence of language skills, claim penury, ask about their homes and families in between complimenting their spoken English, etc.—there are times when your life is worth little, and both you and they know this. Often enough, you are conducting business with people who play by a different set of rules from your average lazy, grafting cop.

For me, the moment came when I found myself alone in middle-of-night darkness in northern Cote d'Ivoire just before the civil war began. A large man was berating me at close range and high volume, demanding money—no polite inquiries about cadeaux, no pretended traffic infractions or missing paperwork. When I realized I was standing on a string of .50 calibre machine gun bullets, the gun in question being trained on our transport, I relented and gave him a couple of dollars. No one who was not standing with me has the right to tell me I should have held out longer, or demanded a receipt or a trip to the police station.

Having said that, of course I agree that by paying readily you make life immeasurably more difficult for all those who follow; it's the adult equivalent of the package tourists who strew "bonbons" and "stylos" among the children wherever they go. I've spent a couple of years altogether traveling rough in the developing world, mostly in Africa, and I've paid just two bribes including the incident above. That seems to me a worthy record.

Safe travels all!

Mark

Hey Mark. Wow, we used to be neighbors! i'm living in Mexico now. Agreed, sometimes its a better idea to just pay. Life can be cheap down here! I do agree that we shouldn't feed the beast though. If you don't break the law and your life isn't in danger, don't feed the beast! The most important thing is to NEVER let them search your bags on the side of the road, unless they give you no other option, like arresting you and taking your keys and opening it themselves. It's a well known fact the police like to plant drugs in your bags, or even in your passport and demand $MUCHO DINERO$ ! Basicly, your f**ked! In many hotels in Quito, i saw postings in english warning travelers about this, and to never show your passport in the street, only in your hotel, Or to use a photo-copy.

A consideration
 

I second Mr. Ron's observations of corruption in Mexico.

The following is based upon more than 12 years of living in Mexico, Central America and South America.

Another favorite Mexican scam is to conceal a small child under a sarape (colored blanket) in the boot (trunk) of a taxi, pick up tourists and their back packs/luggage, deposit the back packs/luggage in the boot. En route to the tourist's destination the small child opens the tourist's gear and replaces valuables with packets of marijuana. Also en route, the cab driver calls his local police buddy who manages to be at the tourist's destination for the purpose of examining tourist's gear for contraband.

The Mexican's win. Game over.

Now, here is another point of view regarding bribes and begging. Paying a bribe to police is like paying a persistent beggar to go away and leave you alone. Bottom line, you are paying each of them to go away. If you think of each peso/dollar etc. as a vote, you are voting for more corrupt police and more beggars.

But, if your body, bike or gear is in imminent danger from which you cannot immediately withdraw or comfortably talk you way out of, your vote for more corrupt police and/or beggars is well cast. xfiltrate

Some Cops are good in Peru!!!
 

I meet the best Cop of my South American trip in Peru!

I stopped once to have a drink in a small store in the middle of the day. Inside there were 3 Cops drinking beer. They invited me over to drink with them. They paid all the beers :)

What can you ask for more? The cops paying you the beer. No way it is going to happen in Canada!!!

Patrick

I feel sorry for the poor bastard they extorted the money from to buy those beers! :)

I can give a couple easy tips to drive "under the radar".. first.. if you have a shiny, brand new 1200gs, I'm sure you MUST be pulled out and tried to ticket you.. is logic.. always leave your bike as dirty as you can mount...
Second.. if you don't speak spanish (and even if you speak) don't say nothing!! just smile and say "no comprendo".. at any moment they need to call an official or release you...
Other good tips (specially in Peru) is contact bike's club; they really LOVE ride whit foreigners and can show you the city and hang up.. VERY friendly people and generally they're NOT stop big bike's concentrations.
One last tip.. busy hours are between 9 am to 6 pm; I don't say you cannot be stopped at night or early in morning, I say is less possible..
I ALWAYS stop to say "hello" in previous police's post then they know me when I reach big city (all post have radios and cellular and they rely this type of information); even sometimes when I don't have money for hotel they allowed me sleep in jail (very funny!):thumbup1::thumbup1::thumbup1::thumbup1:

Iv not been pulled by bent coppers yet but iv only done Argentina and chile upto now.. The matter of dodgy police is a worry in the future though, especially on the way to Iguazu and when im in Peru.

Im planning to just have my "muggers" wallet with a few pesos, a cancelled debit card and a fake licience in it...all my cash and original licience will be hidden away in my money belt.

If im stopped, ill pull out my wallet with the few low value notes cleary visible to the filth.

If they ask for cash, ill show what I have or show my "cancelled" credit card...

They can have just have my 10 pesos or i will offer to pay by VISA (which i doubt they will go for) ... When i finally ride off, ill top up my wallet with another few low value notes for the next time or just say "your friend the other police man already took all my money, i need to use an ATM"

The "no comprendo" trick will be used because its true :)

Think this will work ??????????????????????

A good post there Garo - I can identify with most, if not all, of what you say. They are universal in their application, anywhere in the world!

As just one instance, the "speedy" riders in the UK get to know exactly when the police change shifts and they get out onto their local favourite routes as this happens.

Ted,
You'll get by just talking about Liverpool FC, all in scouse of course (no quarter to be given on the language thing) - not doing too well at present though!! You may need that plan B.

I drove down to Trujillo today. The police are parked watching the highway in every town, but I didnt have any problems. When they didnt look occupied I waved at them and I stopped a few times to ask them directions and they were very friendly.

I guess my duck taped bike and 20 year old sun faded Aerostich jacket are helping.

ahhh trujillo!!! la ciudad jardin (the garden city)
coming from south is all desert then you find trujillo...

you really make me laugh my friend!!!:Beach::Beach::Beach: enjoy that city!! and yes.. I suspect you're old mechanics friend is a very dissuasive force at time they stop you... :cool4::cool4::cool4:

Polite but Firm
 

Pays to be respectful, but firm that you won't pay because it is not right. It is just how things are done, but if you are courteous, but firm, they will give up and send you on your way. Having lived and rode in Peru most of my life I have found that being their friend is the easiest way out. Forget your schedule, sit down at the roadside stand and invite them for a Coke!

This last trip Peru-Brazil-Bolivia-Peru we made up T-shirts with our trip on them and "celebrated" every time we were stopped by giving a shirt away to our "new friend". Never had to pay a bribe in 6,000 miles!

Also speak good Spanish and stay away from Lima!

Toby Around the Block 2007 |

Very interesting reading all & obviously stirred some thoughts, ta, much food for pondering ...

Now in Peru & wanted to wait until I had experienced said action ... bottom line is that around Barranca seems to be the trouble spot.

Riding from Huaraz to Ancon (south) we were stopped 4 times within 70 km (about 20km from the Pan Am on the Huaraz road and for approx 50 km along the Pan Am), with some less subtle than others in looking for funding.

Only 1 was very persistent up to the point where I almost left my gecko´s tail license and that took 30 mins of debate. Withholding the license & writing up a ticket after showing me a spanish rulebook looked koshe except that I hadnt been speeding & they wouldn´t have known without any measuring kit. The fine was 10% of UIT (some form of local community tax I think), and by the cops calculations that was 10% of 3400 soles, or around $100. The ruse was blown when I was offered a pay now fee of $50, as up until then it appeared that they wanted to process me officially.

Further north & south of this zone I´ve had no trouble & police are very polite & courteous. Should anything develop from Nasca to Cucso & beyond I will update.

and talking Liverpool FC is just a perfect way out of most situations :)

btw the Canyon Del Pato is a top ride, top tip Albert, and the rode south from Huaraz is a dream :)

Cheers
Scouse

I was just stopped and shaken down for money outside of Piura. The excuse was no insurance although none was offered at the border.

My first day in Peru was spent with negotiating with angry mobs manning roadblocks in the north and my second was spent with corrupt police.

Just lost my clutch.

Stay off the coast
 

Lazer Jock,

Have lived most of my life in Peru and have loved it (tho I hate the bribes, etc too). I'd suggest staying away from the coast, especially down near Barranca before Lima, its boring on the coast anyway..

In 1963 my dad was up in the Peruvian Andes near Vilcashuaman and he was arested for.. GET THIS!... BEING CHE GUEVARRA! A 6'2" gringo! The police held him for 6 days with machine guns until we could get his papers to the officials!

These things happen, then we look back on them and laugh years later! Don't let it take the wind out of your sails !!!

Toby (charapa) Around the Block 2007 |

Don't listen to me, its probably just the latent malaria talking.

I spent the last 2 weeks riding in the rain. So I was hoping the desert would be a nice change.....But yeah, the constant fever, endless rain, crooked cops and shouting angry mobs, people throwing nails in front of the tires, sucking a half river down the air intake and now my dead clutch all in rapid sucession have kinda got me down.

Perhaps I should dabble with the seratonin uptake inhibitors in my med kit.

It is a pity to see that ex president Fujimori´s big sweep through the policeforce is fading again. I travel through Peru every year and notice that since he left office in 2000 the police is hassling a bit more every year, but so far I had problems only along the coast and mainly around Lima: up to the first 200 km north of Lima and about 60 km south of Lima, and Chaclacayo on the Carretera Central. Never ever paid though, just play stupid, dont speak a word of spanish, show an empty wallet and they give uip in the end. But for the rest of the country I find them still ok.

Los Angeles Guardianes - Caca de Vaca!
 

I am afraid to report that the reputation of the self - styled Los Angeles Guardianes (Peruvian Traffic Rozzers) as thieving, robbing bastards who like to try to treat foreign bikers as mobile ATMs, is wholly justified.

My compadre and I were stopped 3 times the day we travelled north on the Panamericana from Lima 2 days ago with the same routine:

1. Give us your licence
2. You have committed an infracion (we hadn´t)
3. You have to get your licence back from your embassy in Lima
4. Or, you can give me 100USD now and the infracion is cancelled.

We got around this the first time by just holding our ground, shaking our heads and repeating No, no, no, (a la Amy Winehouse). We also played reverse Good Cop, Bad Cop with him, confused him by saying that Gales and Escocia don´t have embassies in Lima, only in London, asking for his name, and hamming up taking notes and photos of his name, number and patrol car. After an hour, he got bored / embarassed and gave us back the licences.

By the time the third one happened in the same evening, we had got a lot more polished - I refused to speak to them, I have an almost expired UAE licence which I gave to him and didn´t mind losing and mi compadre just gave the paper counterfoil to his UK licence.

The biggest joke of all was that the last pig eventually waved us on, warning us to get off the road before dark as this area was renowned for bandidos holding travellers up at gunpoint during the night. I don´t think he saw the irony that he had the barefaced, no - shame cheek to try exactly the same stunt in broad daylight. Needless to say we got straight through Northern Peru the next day and into Ecuador asap, with a bad taste in our mouths about Peru.....

The most important thing to remember is not to pay these pigs anything, even if they start bargaining down to what seems like a little bit of money to you, as it will only encourage them to hassle other foreign bikers....

Just tell'em you dont have any money as you've already been robbed by a cop who gave you the same story !

LOL! That's what I did the only time I was asked to pay a "fine" and it worked well. I kept a very small amount of cash in my wallet. When asked for cash, I told them I had no money, even showed them my wallet after a little time. Told them, the last cop left me just enough money to get a room that night so I wouldn't have to sleep on the streets!

Over all I was stopped 10-11 times between the Ecuador border and Lima! Only once was I asked to pay a fine (as mentioned above). The other times, I would stop, take off my helmet, crack a big smile and chilled out with the them. Most of the time, they just wanted to see where I was from, check out the bike, etc. One of them actually wanted to trade his $2 uniform baseball hat for my $350 helmet! Deal or no deal....hmmm? Funny thing was that my helmet is a giant XXL and he needed a medium. I laughed my ass off when he tried it on!
http://images.travelpod.com/users/rh...0.img_0896.jpg
The photo doesn't give an idea of how big my helmet was on him!

In short, I think if you approach the situation pissed off and annoyed that you got pulled over again, you will be more likely "fined" because you are acting like an ass. Give them a smile and be polite and even joke with them, they will most likely wave you on after a brief chat.

Some friends of mine from England and Norway were stopped just a few hours north of Lima by some cops on motos. Yes they were asked for a fine. They refused to pay and during bargaining with the cops over the fines, my friends asked about the poorly maintained police motos. They had balding tires, one bike even had a worn out belt drive and I understand a replacement belt is mucho dinero. Anyway, my buddies found out that these guys had to pay for the maintenance of their bikes and they get paid peanuts(even by Peruvian standards). After awhile the cops warmed up to them and eventually won their sympathy for all the hassles they were getting from their fellow coppers! Go figure! How you approach these guys will either help you or make it more of a pain in the ass for you.

Nice Photo of Officer Sanchez!
 

Dear Rhinoculips - thanks for your thoughts and especially for the great photo of the first rozzer who stopped me 2 days ago. He said his name was Officer "Sanchez"!

Cheers and all the best,

Honesy.:thumbup1:

Wow this post is seriously off putting for someone currently planning their first trip through Central America. People stopped 10 or 11 times in Peru, Cops planting drugs on you in Mexico and having to drive to embassies to regain your license in Nicaragua or pay heavy fines/bribes? To be honest this isn't the type of thing I think would make me look back and laugh. I've been to Colombia, Venezuela and Cuba all without a bike and any hassle but that's not the same fun as being on two wheels at all. Pretty anxious now.

Don't let these experiences throw you off your game, just play along and all will be well! It's all part of the adventure! Good tip... pack a few fake drivers licences! The cops always give you the option of paying now, or picking up your licence in the next capital. I refuse to pay and say i'll pick it up later, they usually give up and give it back. Just learn how to play the game and have fun with it, it's just part of the experience, and trust me, you'll get good at it after a while!

On the Smellybiker site there was a form you could download which looked official explaining it was intended to prevent corruption. The officer had to include his details along with details of the infraction. The idea then being you would hand it in to the embassy.
I cant find the form Smellybiker's Wanderlust Worldmap • Index page but if someone created something similiar it may be useful especially if we hand it in to the relevant authorities.

Its at http://www.smellybiker.com/arg_cops.doc but I think a few better versions exist.

The 'relevant authorities' are usually on the take so dont expect things like that to work in S.America - much more fun to have copies of documents, an empty wallet and see how much of their time you can waste before they let you go.

I just finished Peru. Despite the rioting mobs, overall I had a pretty good time. Peruvians are overall really nice people. I had a restaurant owner on a "Chinese Harley" drop what he was doing and lead me out of Arequipa this morning. Many rural Peruvians were fascinated to meet a foreigner and were extremely friendly.

Thanks to this thread I was ready for the crooked cops outside of Lima.

I was flagged down and the cop immediately demanded $130 for some mysterious reason. Then he threatened to cuff me. I flagged down another police car and asked to be taken in to the station to speak with the Commandante. The guy backed down real fast. By the end of the confrontation I was lecturing him on honorable conduct and the pernicious effects of corruption and he was begging me not to tell his boss what he'd done.

Riding high for the rest of the week on that one.

So for all of Peru I had 2 crooked cops and hundreds of friendly cops and people.

I did find Peru's poverty very disturbing. The worst I've seen in all of the Americas. Some of the stuff you can see and smell in the shanties is haunting.

Overall the good outweighs the bad in Peru. :thumbup1:

I am from India. Cops make living out of locals' bribe and it is everyday event. You can see that on every state or road in India. Normal bribe is between Rs50 ( US$1.25) to Rs200 ( US$ 5).But I never seen a cop demanding bribe from a foreigner in India. Ok, I am coming back to Peru now. I will be riding in Peru in May 2008 and my Spanish is sooooooo Poor. I don't know How am I going to manage? Is it all over Peru or only near Lima? I will riding south to north on Panamerican. Is there any effective detour should I consider?

I had very bad experience in Peruvian Embassy in New Delhi when I went for my Visa. Only because of Machu Pichhu I tolerate all ill treatments of embassy staffs. I am going to write to Peruvian Foreign Ministry about that after my trip.

Nelson

I had an attempted "shakedown" at the 1st toll booth north of Lima (PanAm)
Here's how it went for me...from my blogsite @ Moto Americas
Beating "the man" in Peru


All throughout my travels in Peru there were National Police on the highway at very regular intervals. Sometimes I’d just get an uninterested look, but usually I’d get a robust wave or a thumbs up. I found their presence to be quite reassuring. However, in doing my research for this trip travelers were constantly talking about one area notorious for shaking down independent travelers. I filed this location away (it’s north of Lima on the PanAm) and was waiting to see what might happen. Peru has toll booths every hour or so along the PanAm, but Motos are exempt from paying tolls. However I was required to find the way around the toll plaza…sometimes I’d have rather just paid the toll. Anyway, I was exiting the plaza and instead of the friendly wave I was waved over to the side of the road. This guy was good cop and bad cop rolled into one! He started with a big handshake, then told me that I had been speeding as I approached the plaza. I was going 45 (kph) and the limit was 30. He then pulled out his little book of infractions and fines and showed me that it was a 70 Sole’ (about 22U$D) fine. I protested (of course) but he seemed pretty stubborn. Before this trip started I received a letter of introduction from BMW USA, explaining my trip and asking any BMW dealers along the way to possibly assist a rider far from home. My friend Bob Guzman provided a Spanish translation so I had this on BMW USA letterhead in both languages. Well, I had put a copy of this in my pocket as I entered Peru, and I handed his to the cop as I fumbled for my money. In the letter it states that I am hoping to write a book about my adventure. After he finished reading this I told him that he would now be a part of my book. Well, he told me to put my money away, that we were now “good friends….right?”
More hand shaking a little pat on the back and I rode off victorious.

Thanks Bob, I owe you lunch in Fairport!