QCOSTARICA – 65.5% of Costa Ricans consider that Costa Rica is not very safe or not at all safe, at the same time women perceive with greater intensity the possibility of being victims of a crime, including sexual assault, as announced Thursday by the Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo (PNUD) – Program of the United Nations for Development – and the School of Statistics (EEs) of the University of Costa Rica (UCR).
In the case of women, the perception of insecurity increases to 72.7%, compared to men at 57.6%
Worst of all, is that the construction of a prosperous, free and egalitarian society would not be possible under this perception, according to the researchers.
The high cost of living (23.9%), followed by the poor state of the economy (22%), unemployment (19.2%), and citizen insecurity (13.3%) are identified as the main problems in the country.
Precisely, the economic complications would also explain why there is a strong perception of crime in the country.
“It is not possible to build a prosperous, free and egalitarian society under the threat of violence and dispossession. Feeling free from fear supposes guarantees for the protection of our integrity and properties, within the framework of social coexistence,” said José Vicente Troya Rodríguez, UNDP Resident Representative.
One piece of information that draws the researchers’ attention is that despite the high level of concern about the issue of insecurity, 63.5% of Costa Ricans consider that the neighborhood in which they live is safe or very safe.
Additionally, 58.3% indicate that the country has a great possibility of solving the problem of citizen insecurity, and 54.7% consider that they can contribute somewhat or a lot to that solution.
Regarding the possession of firearms in the country, 95.4% of people strongly agree that a weapons handling test should be a requirement to obtain a weapon.
For Ericka Méndez, director of the School of Statistics, the data is essential to know the state of security in the country, in addition to some basic details on this topic.
“It constitutes essential information for strategic planning around the issue of security for the institutions and entities that are related to this matter, as well as for decision-making, public policies that help the population feel safer,” detailed Méndez Chacón.
