42 deputies of the Legislative Assembly in Costa Rica approved in first debate the creation of a the National Police Academy.

The initiative proposes the creation of an academy as part of the Ministry of Public Security and with the capacity of offering training, specialization, and formal education in aspects of security.

The document establishes that the academy will offer education in different levels, technical, bachelor degrees, doctorates and master’s degrees all with a focus on human rights and democracy; the curriculums will be recognized by the Ministry of Public Education.

This new institution would also have the capacity and authority to supervise and authorize all public and private entities that offer security courses and trainings like the ones carried out by the private sector.

When it comes to the instructors, some of them would be police officers chosen based on their “experience, merits, capacity and aptitudes”, but the law also offers the possibility of hiring “professionals to deliver the courses that require a specific level of specialization” at the request of the general director.

Three sites have been considered for this project, the National Police School in Pococí, Limón; the main headquarters in San Jose, and the Police Formation Center Murciélago in La Cruz, Guanacaste.