Unfortunately, crime is increasing in Costa Rica and tourists are frequent victims.  While petty theft is the main problem, armed robberies have been known...

The fleet was presented at an event featuring President Carlos Alvarado and Minister of Public Security Michael Soto.

The National Police received 2,512 complaints for property crimes during the first half of this year, representing a 13.6 percent drop from the same period of 2016.

Two Costa Rican lawmakers want to fine small-time thieves instead of jailing them as a way to reduce pressure on the country's overcrowded prisons. Their draft bill calls for eliminating prison penalties for theft under ₡200,000.

According to OIJ Director Francisco Segura Montero, 45 people have been shot dead by motorcyclists since the beginning of 2014. Honduras, Guatemala and several other Latin American countries prohibit passengers on motorcycles. But it's unclear whether the rule has reduced crime in those countries.

Last year was a rough one for Costa Rica when it came to crime. No where was this more clear than the dramatic increases in homicides and burglaries of homes, according to the Judicial Investigation Police’s (OIJ) 2014 annual report released Monday. Homicides spiked across the country by 14.6 percent – more than any other crime – with 471 people killed during 2014.

The number of cumulative cases of violence committed against minors in Costa Rica has reached the highest figure in the last five years, according to a report released Thursday morning by the National Children's Hospital. To date, the medical center has registered 2,377 cases of child abuse this year alone.

OIJ official: “Victims are being tortured or mutilated, and most of these crimes occur in the streets. Previously we had information of at least six organized groups operating in Desamparados, but our intelligence now says that these gangs have merged into two major groups that are disputing control of the area.”

The isthmus connecting North and South America continues to lead the world in murder rates, with four of the top five rates in the world in Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and Belize.

Despite having only 9 percent of the world’s population, Latin America and the Caribbean register more than 30 percent of the world’s homicides, according to a security expert at the World Bank. INTERACTIVE GRAPHIC: Explore homicide statistics and their relationship to economic growth across Latin America.