Costa Rica crime

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.

Agents from Costa Rica's Judicial Investigation Police, or OIJ, on Thursday morning arrested three employees of the BAC San José branch in Quepos, a port town next to the popular central Pacific tourist destination of Manuel Antonio, on suspicion of money laundering. A fourth suspect, believed to be the ringleader of the operation, is still at large, according to law enforcement sources.

It’s all fun and games – until you get arrested by Central American authorities for shoplifting a metric ton of saltines.

Costa Rica had a pretty “pura vida” year in 2014 when it came to crime. Compared to unidentified helicopters, $6 billion money laundering schemes and the break up of an organ trafficking ring in 2013, 2014 was a more pedestrian year. But there were still a handful of standout crime stories this year.

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.”

FERGUSON, Missouri – Violent protests and looting erupted in the U.S. town of Ferguson on Monday after a grand jury chose not to press charges against a white officer who shot dead a black teen.

The simulator, the first of its kind in Costa Rica, copies the cockpit of a Piper Seneca III aircraft and runs training programs in great detail. It cost $305,000 and was delivered to Public Security Minister Celso Gamboa, who thanked the U.S. government for the donation.

A ranger lost two fingers on his right hand while trying to protect himself from a machete-wielding hunter.

President Luis Guillermo Solís and Public Security Minister Celso Gamboa traveled to San Carlos, Alajuela, on Monday, to announce an investment of more than ₡205 million ($383,000) in the canton’s National Police force following a rash of robberies and attacks in the area, a popular tourist destination.

The conviction by a Costa Rican court of U.S. expat Ann Maxin Patton on charges that she murdered her husband, U.S. financier John Felix Bender, in 2010 continues to be scrutinized, this time by the CBS documentary news series "48 hours."