Factors that increase insecurity

In Costa Rica, insecurity is such a complex problem that the solution is everyone's business, not only the authorities’.

Just as there are criticisms of the macroeconomic policies of the governments from which the social gap is said to have increased, negative values have penetrated into the very heart of the family which contributes to criminal behavior

Experts have listed ten ingredients which when mixed together are the breeding ground where crime flourishes.

1. Socio-economic inequality
In 2007, income inequality in Costa Rica recorded its second highest increase in 20 years, and social programs did not reach the poor, said Elizabeth Roman, coordinator of the Social Chapter of the 14th Report on the State of the Nation. “We know very well that there is a relationship between inequality, poverty and crime,” she said.

2. Family Disintegration
In addition to the increased possibility of the loss of parental authority, when combined domestic violence and economic deprivation, the children become more prone to leave their studies and take the wrong path. “The family is the foundation of society,” reinforced Rita Hernandez, academic director Madre del Divino Pastor High School.

3. Education Desertion
Of every thousand children who entered first grade in Costa Rica, only 381 succeed in graduating from high school. “If students stay in school, they would be people who are more capable of facing the labor market," said Alejandrina Mata, vice minister of Education. Dropping out means that revenue must be found in other ways.

4. Drugs
The complaints related to drugs have increased more than tenfold in the last decade. Many addicts rob and assault every day to buy drugs, which led Gerardo Láscarez, former Deputy Minister of Security, to qualify the problem as “a pandemic.”

5. Loss of values
In a society where it seems that the prevailing value is “to have” above “being,” it is becoming more common for many to satisfy their material cravings through illegal means, argues Francisco Escobar, a sociologist.

6. Proliferation of Weapons
The 8551 arms registered last year in Costa Rica were a historical record. It is noteworthy that in ten years the number of deaths by firearms doubled. “It is urgent to restrict access to them,” thought Max Loría, an adviser to the Ministry of Justice.

7. Import of criminal patterns.
Criminal patterns that were once strange are now common. For example, murders for hire which are committed by assassins experienced a rise in 2007, denounced the latest Report on the State of the Nation.

8. Institutional Abandonment.
This was one of the things that most worried Fernando Berrocal when he was Minister of Security. “We find ourselves with a lag of not one but several previous administrations with regards to safety,” he said, and also elaborated on the need to review operational issues, labor and financial resources.

9. Soft Legislation.
Even the policemen are screaming at the heavens in Costa Rica, being that they catch offenders time and again who are then set free a few hours later. The Security Commission of the Legislative Assembly has already implemented reforms designed to toughen penalties and expand grounds for remand.

10. Media Violence.
The normalization of violence through the mass media dedicated to the events and the yellow journalism tone “is worrying.” Part of this vision is shared by Mrs. Elizabeth Fonseca, from the Security Commission of the Legislative Assembly.

At TicosLand.com, we also express the concern that the majority of Costa Ricans feel through the sense of insecurity in the country. The solution is not to stiffen penalties. It is necessary to expand the coverage of social programs, as well as educating the public not to expect to have everything handed to them, but also give them employment options and let them move forward to seek their means of subsistence.