For the first time since 2012, Costa Rica managed to close the 2018 year with a decrease on the number of homicides.

Data provided by the Judiciary Investigative Police (OIJ) this Monday, showed the total number of victims of homicide this 2018 reached 585 which is 18 less than in 2017 when the number was 603.

This new number brings the homicide rate from 12.1 for every 100 thousand inhabitants to 11.6 per every 100 thousand inhabitants, according to information of the National Institute of Census and Statistics (Spanish acronym: INEC).

Michael Soto, Minister of Public Security, considers this change is directly related with the actions being carried out by the police bodies through the different mega-operations.

“Since 2012 the homicide rate had been on the rise and one of the objectives we set out since the beginning of the year was to try to influence this. The first five months of this year were very difficult months, because the projection we had said we were going to reach 645 homicides”, explained Soto.