A.M. Costa Rica photoCriminal complaints
taken 24 hours a day
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Police investigators want you to know that they are open 24 hours a
day to take your complaints. But there is a reluctance by foreigners and
tourists to report criminal activity.
A case in point is the stretch of Avenida 1 between Calle 7 and Calle
9 where three to four muggers are working weekend evenings without hardly
any interference by local police. As many as 25 North Americans, residents,
tourists and business owners, have been victims of the muggers, some with
serious physical results from the choke holds the crooks favor.
But A.M. Costa Rica has a better list of victims than does the Judicial
Investigating Organization. Hardly any North American has filed a complaint.
Police agencies run on statistics, so investigators in San José
have a distorted idea of what is going on in the streets if complaints
are not filed.
Egenio Guido, chief of the Denuncia or complaint section for the Judicial
Investigating Organization says that many times Fuerza Publica patrolmen
do not carry forms and paperwork with them, many ride motorcycles.
That’s why some North Americans have complained that the street patrolmen
failed to take reports.
Guido said that his office is open 24 hours a day, although he does
have to deal with budget problems. At least four intake clerks work from
early morning to late evening. The overnight shift where there is plenty
of work, too, has but two intake clerks. Four of the 10 employees have
some knowledge of English, he said.
At any given time, the nearby waiting room is from half-full to full
of Costa Ricans making formal complaints to the agency. Guido said,
however, that victims of street crimes can make a complaint at the local
headquarters of the Fuerza Publica if that is more convenient.
Not only is the OIJ office in San José open round the clock,
but so are offices in principal cities, Guido said.
To reach the correct office to file a complaint, a visitor after normal
business hours would have to use the Avenida 8 entrance that is open and
guarded all the time. During business hours, there are at least three entrances
for the public to the building, which is the middle of the three buildings
in the court complex between Avenida 6 and Avenida 8.
| Long hall leads the way from
the Avenida 8 entrance to the Denuncia section that is all the way on the
other side of the building. |
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Bush wants to boost
Peace Corps numbers
Special to A.M. Costa Rica
WASHINGTON, D. C. — President George Bush announced that he is seeking
to expand the Peace Corps by doubling its force of volunteers over the
next five years to levels it had in the mid 1960s when it was created during
the Kennedy Administration.
Bush outlined his initiative Friday to double the size of the Peace
Corps and expand the number of countries in which Peace Corps volunteers
are active. He also announced that a special Peace Corps assessment team
will travel to Afghanistan to evaluate needs and opportunities for Peace
Corps volunteers to assist the Afghan people in rebuilding their nation.
More information about the Peace Corps is available on the Internet
at www.peacecorps.gov.
Latin trading bloc
meeting in south
By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Leaders from Mercosur, a South American trading
bloc, are meeting today here for a summit expected to focus on Argentina's
severe economic crisis.
Participants are also set to discuss ways to boost cooperation within
the block, which is composed of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.
Chile and Bolivia are associate members.
Late Sunday, Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso expressed
his country's solidarity with Argentina before meeting privately with the
Argentine president, Eduardo Duhalde.
Brazilian officials say President Cardoso could offer concessions on
trade tariffs to help revive Argentina's battered economy after four years
of deep recession. Cardoso has expressed confidence that Argentina has
the resources to recover from its crisis.
Last week, Argentine officials traveled to Washington for meetings with
the International Monetary Fund. The negotiations were aimed at restarting
talks that broke down in December, when the IMF refused to clear a loan
payment to Argentina.
Ex-senate leader
arrested in Brazil
By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
BELEM, Brazil — Brazilian police have arrested the country's former
senate president on charges of corruption and fraud.
Jader Barbalho, who also once headed the country's largest political
party, was detained Saturday in this Amazonian city after officials in
the neighboring state of Tocantins issued a warrant for him.
Barbalho resigned from his Senate seat in October to avoid a likely
impeachment that would have stripped him of the right to run for public
office for the next eight years. However, his loss of immunity cleared
the way for the charges.
The corruption case involves questionable loans made by the Amazon Development
Agency, known as Sudam, which was recently shut down. In one of many possible
irregularities, Barbalho's former wife is reported to have received a grant
for a frog farm which investigators say was largely abandoned. Police have
arrested several other people in the case, including the former head of
the agency, Jose Arthur Tourinho.
Royal Family pays
its last respects
By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
LONDON — Members of Britain's royal family have paid their last farewell
to Princess Margaret, attending her funeral at Windsor Castle.
The 101-year-old Queen Mother, who has been fighting a persistent chest
infection, joined the rest of her family and about 400 close friends and
staff for the service at Saint George's Chapel. The Queen Mother flew to
Windsor by helicopter Thursday from the royal estate at Sandringham in
eastern England to be present for the service.
Princess Margaret, 71, chose to break with tradition by having her body
cremated after the funeral.
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