President Carlos Alvarado, the Minister of Justice, Marcia González and the Minister of Science, Technology and Telecommunications, Luis Adrián Salazar, signed Law 9597, a change to Article 49 of the General Law of Telecommunications (Law 8642) that will block the cell phone signal in penitentiary centers in the country.

This action hopes to help in matters of security by effectively battling frauds that are carried out from prison as well as communication between prisoners and criminal organizations.

According to data provided by the Judiciary Investigative Police (OIJ), between 2014 and 2016 over 613 crimes of scam and 354 of fraud were executed from prison in Costa Rica; this, despite the efforts of the Penitentiary Police to increase and strengthen security in prisons to avoid the entry of cell phones, going from 3,268 phones seized in 2915 to 3,589 in 2017.

“We are facing new challenges with the changes of the conditions that generate illegal activities, but we are responding with new tools, decided actions and the participation of all sectors of society. This law signed today is an example of that will”, expressed President Alvarado.

As of today, telecommunication operators in the country will have 9 months to adapt their technology to comply with this norm. A commission formed by representatives of the Ministries of Justice, Security and Science and Technology will be leading the process of creating the regulations.

The Law was approved in first debate by the Legislative Assembly on May 24 this year and obtained the final approval July 29. The process took two years.