The authorities of the Judicial Investigation Body (OIJ) have responded to a proposed law that purports to establish a public register of individuals convicted of sexual crime, human trafficking and sex tourism. This project was discussed by the Legislative Assembly's Committee on Drug Safety and Narcotics.
The initiative, presented by the current independent personality Gloria Navas, has as its main objective to safeguard the safety and well-being of children, teenagers and adolescents, trying to prevent the contact of these vulnerable populations with individuals with a history of sexual crimes, in particular those involving young people.
The proposal is based on the premise that, given the naturalness of sexual assaults, there is a high probability of recurrence in this type of crime. Therefore, the proposed register will serve to issue preventive warnings at a national level on the presence of individuals with a history of sexual crimes.
Furthermore, the immediate inclusion of the Poder Judicial, the Patronato Nazionale dell'Infanzia (PANI), the Sistema de Emergencias 9-1-1, the municipalities, the Istituto Costarricense de Turismo (ICT) and other public institutions was established and private in this country. register. Asimism, if it contemplates participation in educational and health entities, with the aim of strengthening the protection of the general population.
Rosa María Jiménez, leader of the specialized section on Gender Violence and the Treaty of Persons of the OIJ, underlined the importance of addressing this issue due to the alarming task of re-incidence in cases of sexual abuse, including in the family context. Jiménez argues that many cases of re-incidence of sexual crimes unfortunately culminate in feminicides.
To prevent these crimes, the OIJ implements internal plans and operators who periodically supervise people affected by similar crimes. The creation of a registry will allow the OIJ to monitor the most effective form of offenders, following common practices in other countries.
Óscar Valverde, director of the Fundación Paniamor, present to the public, highlighted the importance of clearly defining the supervision process of this public register. There was a need to establish a minimum monitoring period, which could vary from 5 to 15 years, but even after this point an individual's risk assessment should not be completely discarded.
In summary, the proposal to establish a public registry of convicted sex offenders in Costa Rica seeks to protect the population, particularly the most vulnerable groups, of individuals with historical crimes in this area. This measure, if implemented correctly, could significantly contribute to the prevention of crime and the safety of society as a whole.
