Locals and tourists alike will soon be able to submit formal criminal complaints to Costa Rica’s Tourist Police rather than having to travel to the closest office of the Judicial Investigation Police (OIJ) in select coastal communities as part of an “experimental” pilot program that will begin next month.

 

Under the pilot program, officers of the Tourist Police will be trained and able to accept any type of criminal complaint, ranging from property crimes to assault with a deadly weapon, the Minister of Public Security, Gustavo Mata, told Amelia Rueda.

 

Currently, those wishing to file a criminal complaint must travel to the nearest office of the Judicial Investigation Police (OIJ), which can often be a significant distance. A person in the popular coastal tourist community of Tamarindo, for example, must travel to the OIJ offices in Liberia, at least an hour and a half drive away.

 

The process tends to be especially confusing for foreign tourists who may not know their way around the country.

 

The pilot program will initially be implemented in Playas del Coco, Tamarindo, Jaco, and Manuel Antonio on Costa Rica’s Pacific coast; as well as Puerto Viejo in the country’s Caribbean province of Limon.

 

If the pilot program is successful, it could be expanded, officials said.