More than 20 people attended the meeting held in the main lobby of L’aqua Viva hotel, 56 individuals were personally invited. Attendees were briefed on the latest police activity and given a chance to voice their concerns. 

Jeison Vargas, chief of the tourist police in Nosara, made a presentation and provided a number of statistics based on information gathered between January and August of 2011. Included in the statistics were the number and type of reported crimes, amount and type of contraband seized, and number and nature of police visits made during the aforementioned time frame. 

“Those who use and are addicted to crack are very desperate for their next fix, these are the people we find committing robberies, anything to be able to afford more drugs,” said Vargas. 

Vargas said the use in Nosara was much higher than any other area in Guanacaste including Flamingo and Tamarindo. Vargas, with the assistance of Agnes Pinheiro, president of the Nosara Security Association, who was translating throughout the meeting, also warned those in attendance about the area’s drug problem.

“We can not be blind to this. There are drugs and drug cartels in the area,” said Pinheiro. 

Both Vargas and Pinheiro referenced the confiscation of 5 kilos of cocaine Sunday September 18th. 

With a tone of progress Vargas discussed the relationship between community members and the police. Reminding the guests that the better the relationship between police and public, the better the service the public will receive. Vargas stressed the importance of community- police collaboration and told guests that he has witnessed an increase in feedback from the community through anonymous calls. 

Rent and utilities for the Touristic Police office are paid for with donations from the community through the Nosara Security Association. According to Pinheiro, the Association is liaising with the Ministry of Security in order to have these costs subsidized so the funds can be allocated to more crucial uses. Ideas such as surveillance cameras, and police vehicles were brought up at the meeting.

For details regarding finances see – www.nosarawatch.com

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