No Military...But An Army Of Security

One of the most well known and highly features of Costa Rica is the 50-year old decision to abolish the military force.

Costa Rica maintains small forces capable of law enforcement and foreign peacekeeping, but has no permanent standing army.

It is however, mistake to assume that just because there is no official military presence, there are no military-type features in the country.

Sure there are no statutes honouring war heroes. Whatever pomp and ceremony takes place, does so without the help of military bands and platoons of marching soldiers.

Forces Of Law Enforcement

But as for these 'small forces capable of law enforcement'...they seem huge to me.

In the San Jose area there are 3 police forces that somehow share jurisdiction: federal police, San Jose municipal police and the transit police.

I'm sure that these 3 police forces have clearly defined mandates, but they all have one thing in common. Regardless of what they do, they are all fully armed and outfitted in bullet proof vests and similar protective gear.

Every corner in downtown San Jose seems to have at least one...usually more...group of 2-10 officers, just hanging around, fully armed and protected. Armed and protected against what, I'm not totally sure.

These official police officers are just the tip of the security pyramid.

Wanna Be Police Officers

Next in line are the private security officers...possibly 'wanna be' police officers. This group is also huge in number, well armed and well protected.

These officers, mostly men, guard banks and commercial buildings like office buildings and shopping centres. And yes, they are also fully armed and protected, probably against the notorious and lawless Venezuelans. I once saw one of these guards carrying a machine gun outside a shopping centre. Actually that was quite funny. Not far from this machine gun totin' security guard, was a pistol packing security guard popping wheelies on his bicycle.

Next are the uniformed, but mostly unarmed, security guards watching over such businesses as pharmacies, convenience and grocery stores, pet shops, restaurants, parking lots and so on.

Community Security Guards

And speaking of parking lots, there are also a variety of community security guards. This group includes those guys who get themselves reflective vests, often from street vendors, and help drivers find parking...either on the street or in street-side parking lots.

In return for watching over the cars while the drivers are off doing something else, they expect and usually receive a tip of some kind.

Not to be ignored is the guy who armed with a billy club, rides his bicycle around the neighborhood during daylight hours. Presumably he is performing some kind of security function. And so is the guy who rides his bike in the same neighborhood, blasting his whistle in front of selected houses...houses whose owners have paid him to do his 'night patrol'.

Come to think of it, who needs a military force?

The alternative army of security seems to have taken its place.