Thirty-eight indigenous citizens in the southern Caribbean region came to the town of Suretka recently to get information about becoming police officers, according to the Public Security Ministry.
Potential recruits met with officials from the ministry including psychologists, doctors and recruiters to see if they met the requirements for becoming an officer with the National Police – the first stage of getting the job.
All of the men and women who arrived proved that they meet legal requirements concerning age, education and Costa Rican citizenship.Most importantly, “they all have the desire to be police officers,” said Public Security Minister Fernando Berrocal in a statement.
“This is something historic; indigenous from our country have never been recruited,” Berrocal said, adding that the ministry is particularly interested in hiring members of the Bribrí and Cabécar communities who speak these languages.
Costa Rica’s remote indigenous communities are some of the country’s poorest, and studies have shown those living there have limited access to health care and education and often have a hard time finding formal employment (TT, Oct. 14, 2005).
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