On Tuesday, President Rodrigo Chaves and the Security Council met in the Presidential House and reached an agreement to move forward with the approval of various reforms to reduce crime.

"The country must take extraordinary actions that even modernize Costa Rican criminal law because we have problems due to some of the most dangerous criminals being people who have not yet turned 18," Chaves said. 

"So our society's question should be: How do we deal with the immediate danger posed by these young people? Individuals may not have had many opportunities in their lives. However, they are currently a genuine and impending threat to the rest of society," he said.

Both the government and Congress decided to organize a working committee to study and eventually approve more than 25 initiatives aimed at lowering crime in the country.

Among these law reform measures, the administration requests that Congress prioritize six critical crime-fighting changes. 

One is bill number 23701, which authorizes the extradition of Costa Ricans for international drug trafficking and terrorism offenses.

In addition, bill number 23692 proposes to improve standards that prisoners imprisoned for crimes must satisfy to be released from jail before serving their whole term.

Another bill, number 23689, proposes to strengthen sanctions for anyone who is caught carrying a firearm without permission. 

Furthermore, bill number 23690 intends to modernize telephone interventions by allowing them to be used in criminal investigation cases.

Also, bill number 23691 empowers police and investigative agencies to address issues with organized crime in which people under 18 years old are involved.

Additionally, bill number 23688 seeks improved administration of preventative measures for those guilty of crimes.

According to the Ministry of Security,  this year from January to September, there were 680 murders. This statistic is a new record when compared to the 654 killings recorded in 2022.

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