Couples in the midst of intercourse and prostitutes flashing intimate body parts to prospective clients are the two most common sexual acts that officers from the Municipal Police, Transit Police and Fuerza Publica encounter as they conduct their daily patrols across Costa Rica. According to a late 2014 report filed by metro reporter Yaslin Cabezas of online news daily CRHoy.com, the incidence of sexual acts in public seems to have increased over the last few years.

In Costa Rica, many of the incidents involving lewd and lascivious behavior in public are reported via the 911 emergency line, but these are rarely investigated unless they constitute a threat of harm, injury or structural damage. The majority of the sexual acts that take place in public are caught by officers on foot patrol, primarily in San Jose and Jaco Beach.

In the capital city, some of these acts are detected by the network of security and surveillance cameras around San Jose. These cameras are hardly inconspicuous; they tend to be large and bulky, and they are prominently installed on traffic lights or on building ledges. The metropolitan greenery of La Sabana, Parque España and the Francisco Morazan Park seem to the favorite spots for furtive couples, and sometimes groups, to have sex in public.

The above-mentioned Morazan Park in San Jose is located near the heart of the “Gringo Gulch,” an area of Downtown San Jose that is anchored by the Del Rey Hotel, a known marketplace and meeting spot for sexual tourists and the prostitutes they seek. According to Municipal Police Director Marcelo Solano, a common act in the Morazan Park consists of transgendered prostitutes pleasing their male clients with oral sex. Director Solano adds:

Each night, there are three or four incidents that our officers encounter while on foot patrols; these are sexual acts caught in flagrante delicto. In the video surveillance system, we have high-resolution images and video scenes of those caught giving and receiving oral sex, and we can clearly see the faces of men, women and otherwise.

Another popular spot for sexual trysts in public seems to be Route 27. This is where many of the 911 calls originate from; they are typically made by commuters reporting incidents whereby male drivers are being orally pleased by a passenger. Transit Police officers also run into couples having sex inside cars parked on the shoulder of the highway, sometimes in plain daylight.

According to an analysis made by the Planning and Operational Department of Fuerza Publica earlier this year, reported acts of sex in public in Costa Rica have increased in the last few years, which can be attributed to the installation of security cameras and greater coverage of foot patrols.