Faced with a growing population and increased criminality in Costa Rica, the Ministry of Public Safety has been working on modernizing their police operations. Donations of squad cars by China, forensic ballistic systems by Canada, aircraft acquisitions, new equipment for the National Coast Guard Service, a cybercrime center, electronic fingerprinting databases, and more. Amidst all these attempts at building a modern public safety force, the traditional methods of old-fashioned police work such as visible presence, foot patrols, and community outreach are still the best measures against crime.

On May 1^st, a young man was walking in the vicinity of Bajo Piuses in Tibas when he was surprised by two muggers, one of them armed with a handgun. The suspects threatened the young men and stole his wallet and wristwatch. As the suspects fled on foot, they ran into two Fuerza Publica officers walking the beat.

The officers disarmed the suspects and confiscated a .38 caliber revolver loaded with five rounds. As the officers caught the men in flagrante delicto, they returned the stolen belongings to the victim on the spot. When they prepared to release the criminals to prosecutors, they found that one of the men had a long rap sheet of 24 criminal counts.

Past articles in The Costa Rica Star have shown other examples of how traditional police work by the men and women of Fuerza Publica is proving to be an adequate line of defense against crime. Alert police officers on foot patrol caught a would-be trafficker of iguanas in San Jose not long ago, a cockfighting ring was dismantled by officers who interviewed members of the community in the Osa canton, a security perimeter by Tourism Police officers caught two men who had robbed tourists from Switzerland at knife point in Puerto Viejo, etc.

While technology can be a great contribution to police work, when Ticos see Fuerza Publica officers walking the beat in the streets and neighborhoods of Costa Rica, they feel much safer. When they get to know the officers who operate in their sectors, they tend to be more appreciative of their work. To this extent, Fuerza Publica has been trying to connect their officers with the Ticos they serve with public relations and transparency via Twitter.

Fuerza Publica is also concentrating on developing their special units as vital elements of law enforcement in Costa Rica. The Tourism Police is one of the special units that Fuerza Publica is focusing their efforts on, training new officers and making sure that their presence is known.

This past Sunday, an 18-year old American tourist sought the aid of Tourism Police officers in Tamarindo Beach, in the Guanacaste province. She claimed she was raped and gave a description of the suspect. The officers immediately set up a perimeter -on foot- and apprehended a suspect by the name of Calderon who matched the description, and who was identified by the young American He was arrested and turned over to local prosecutors.

Source: Ministry of Public Safety