Costa Rica News – Keep your hands on your wallets while walking through downtown San Jose or get yourself a money belt to hide your valuables. The Director of the Police Force (Fuerza Publica) of San Jose, revealed that they’ve seen an increase in the number of cases pickpocketing.
It has been reported that police action is being taken to prevent more instances of pickpockets as well as bring the perpetrators to justice.
Celso Gamboa, Security Minister, stated that over 90 percent of offenders detained are charged.
Statistical data from the Ministry of Security showed that cases of pickpocketing and small theft rose about 47 percent between January and May in Costa Rica.
There have been about 18 arrests a day during this time for a total of 763 arrests in the 2,814 cases that were reported.
According to the police, most of these crimes were petty thefts and robberies from shops.
Most of these cases were reported in the San Jose area. Reported cases of theft during all of 2013 totaled 6,181.
