Q COSTA RICA — An electronic ankle monitor will replace imprisonment for child support debtors in Costa Rica, according to the bill presented this Monday, July 27, by President Laura Fernández to the Legislative Assembly.
In Costa Rica, if a monthly payment is missed or incomplete, it can land you in jail. The law doesn’t set a colón amount that triggers an arrest warrant. Instead, because child support is paid monthly upfront, failing to pay on time gives the recipient (typically the child’s mother or guardian) the right to immediately request a warrant.
Being sent to jail for missing a payment is not technically a criminal sentence for a crime, but a civil enforcement tool. You are detained until the outstanding debt is fully paid (up to 2 months on the first incident, 4 months on the second, and 6 months for the third, the maximum allowable time a person can spend in jail during a single detention period). Once the time expires, they must be released, though the debt remains legally enforceable through asset or wage garnishment.
In addition, anyone with an active child support case in Costa Rica faces an automatic departure impediment (travel ban). You’re not allowed to leave the country unless you’ve already paid 13 months of support upfront—12 months for the coming year plus the Christmas bonus (Aguinaldo).
The proposal
The initiative is part of the second package of security reforms that the Executive Branch submitted to the unicameral Legislature and introduces electronic monitoring as an alternative to imprisonment.
The State spends ¢75,294.97 colones per month on food alone for each person incarcerated, while each monitoring device costs the equivalent of US$7.20 per day, according to the bill’s explanatory memorandum.
How it would work
Under the proposal, the debtor would have to appear before the Administración de Adaptación Social (Social Adaptation Administration) within 24 hours of the court notification to have the device installed.
The Child Support Judge would define the permitted movement perimeter and could authorize outings for work, health, education, or family obligations.
Each day under monitoring would be equivalent to one day of the detention ordered by the judge. The stated objective is for the debtor to maintain their employment and the ability to generate the income necessary to catch up on their obligations.
The proposal is not universal. Incarceration in a penitentiary would remain mandatory for those with links to organized crime, drug trafficking, money laundering, sexual offenses against minors, or domestic violence and violence against women.
Also excluded would be individuals who pose a risk to the creditor or third parties, those without a fixed address and support networks, and those facing pretrial detention for another reason.
When is the benefit revoked?
The bill establishes three automatic grounds for revocation: failure to pay alimony for more than a month, damaging or altering the device, and violating mobility restrictions imposed by the judicial authority.
Upon revocation, the judge would order immediate transfer to the Sistema Penitenciario Nacional (National Penitentiary System). From there, the affected individual could request a special form of confinement that would allow them to leave prison exclusively to work during specific hours and return to incarceration outside of those hours.
The context of a prison at its limit
The proposal comes as the Costa Rican prison system is experiencing an overcrowding crisis. As of February this year, the prison population numbered 19,453 in facilities with a capacity of 13,289, representing an overcrowding rate of 46.4%.
The San José Detention Center (CAI) — the San Sebastión ail in San José — has the highest overcrowding rate, at 134.3%. It is followed by the Marcus Garvey CAI, prison in Limón, at 120% and the Antonio Bastida de Paz CAI in Pérez Zeledón at 101.4%.
Furthermore, one in four people deprived of their liberty—26.25% of the total—have not been convicted, a figure that has almost doubled since 2022, when there were 2,564 people in pretrial detention compared to the current 5,034.
A Broader Legislative Package
The proposal regarding child support debtors is one piece of a broader set of measures. On the same day, Fernández presented initiatives to eliminate the preliminary hearing in criminal proceedings, expand the use of ankle monitors for convicts in supervised release programs, increase penalties for illegal mining to between six and ten years in prison, and restructure police ranks with titles such as colonel, major, and captain.
The president also announced a constitutional reform to broaden the grounds for extradition of Costa Rican citizens, although this text was not formally submitted to the Legislature.
As she explained to the legislators, constitutional amendments must be presented during the ordinary session period, which begins in August.
“We will not stop in the national crusade against organized crime. We will not stop in the all-out war against drug trafficking,” Fernández stated during a speech lasting more than an hour before the Legislative Assembly.