Since 1999 Costa Rica hasn’t built a new prison, but for this 2017, the country will have three new Comprehensive Care Units that will host 1,600 prisoners in spaces suitable for work and study.

The new centers, which involve an investment of $66 million USD, will be located in San Rafael de Alajuela, Pococí de Limón and Pérez Zeledón,San José.

The prisoners that will be allocated in these centers have profiles that allows them to coexist and therefore work and receive training by the National Learning Institute (INA).

When it comes to infrastructure, the remodeling of section D of La Reforma jail is also in progress with the purpose of providing space for 204 people.

Back in August of 2016, Cecilia Sánchez, Minister of Justice and Peace, had ordered the closure of section F of La Reforma jail, a sector known as “Las Tumbas” (The Tombs), in defense and protection of the human rights of prisoners, since this area was used to isolate and confine people for long periods of time. This space will also be remodeled and will become a working space for around 88 people.

The government has taken measures to comply with the legal mandate to reduce the overcrowding in the different jails; however, it is necessary to make a revision of criminal policies since they consider that the overcrowding problem will not be sold with just construction projects. The government presented a draft law with the objective of avoiding the unnecessary, unjustified and expensive overcrowding of the penitentiary system, considering the recommendations of the UN, which establish that with alternative punishments sanctions can be guaranteed for those non-violent law-offenders, establishing punitive sanctions different from confinement that also avoid impunity.

The reinforcement of the Penitentiary Police is also part of the needs being handled, through better salaries and improved infrastructure. New k-9 units in Pococí, Limon and Puntarenas began operations as well as camera monitoring systems in La Reforma, Zurquí, Liberia and the tree Comprehensive Care Units.