Police Chief Resigns Amid High Caseload

Jorge Rojas said this week he would step down from his post as director of the Judicial Investigation Police (OIJ), ending a 32-year career with Costa Rican law enforcement.

The news, announced in a statement from his press office, did not come as a surprise.

In an interview with The Tico Times in October, Rojas, a 51-year-old lawyer, expressed dismay at what he described as a severely short-staffed force, and threatened to resign (TT, Oct. 5).

Rojas reiterated his complaint to the daily La Nación on Tuesday.

“Criminal investigation is degenerating because of a lack of resources,” he told the newspaper.

Rojas cited an average of 58,000 cases annually that must be tended to by an average of 500 investigators.

“I’m leaving, deeply concerned,” he said.