Security & Strategic Review - August 2018 (ISSN 1741-4202)

COSTA RICA | New law blocking cell phone services in prisons. On 31 July Costa Rica’s 57-member unicameral legislature passed a law forcing cell phone operators and providers to block cell phone service to all prison facilities in the country. Enrique Sánchez, a deputy for the ruling Partido Acción Ciudadana (PAC), told reporters that official statistics reveal a large number of crimes are committed in Costa Rica from prisons with the use of cell phones, specifically telephone scams, extortion, and organised crime.