Costa Rica Blogs - Newsfeeds

By Leland Baxter-Neal
Tico Times Staff
At the behest of the Public Security Ministry, researchers at the University of Costa Rica (UCR) are preparing a total redesign of the ministry in hopes of making it a leaner, meaner crime-fighting machine, according to Mayela Cubillo, director of the University of Costa Rica’s (UCR) School of Public Administration.

The school is meeting with scholars, lawyers, public officials, researchers and others as they tackle an infamously inefficient ministry. A final report with recommendations for an overhaul of the ministry’s structure is expected in October.

Cubillo said the Public Security Ministry has eight duplicated offices, including two press offices, two human resources offices and two legal departments. She also noted that Costa Rica has 17 different police divisions with distinct and often limited powers.

Part of the blame for the overlap is traced back to the administration of Miguel Angel Rodríguez (1998-2002), when the Public Security Ministry was joined with the Governing and Police Ministry, she said.

Lack of public security “is an issue for the state — it is a public issue,” Cubillo told The Tico Times yesterday, adding that the private sector, especially the media, also play a large part. The director said media has helped fuel both a higher perception of crime than is reality, and a real increase in crime.

“Our idea is that (with a restructured ministry) we can diminish both the real and perceived crime rates,” she said.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 28th, 2007 at 1:09 pm and is filed under Costa Rica News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.