300 New Tránsito Officers To Be Hired
The Policía de Tránsito will be getting a much needed boost with the announcement that the force will see 300 new officers, according to viceministra de Transportes, Viviana Martín.

The vice-minister said that a formal presentation for the additional officers will be made in the coming days to the Contraloría General de la Republica, the Autoridad Presupuestaria and the Servicio Civil, government agencies that must give their respective approvals.

Currently there are only 800 Tránsito (traffic) officers patrolling the entire country. The addition of the new officers will bring the force to 1.100.

"The ideal is 1.500 officers, however, it will be a goal that we hope to soon achieve", affirmed vice-minister Martín.

Martín added that 65% of all traffic accidents in 2006 occurred mainly on rutal routes between towns, routes that have little traffic patrols. The additional officers will allow the Policía de Tránsito to increase the patrols of those routes, Martín added.

The vice-minister also said that a series of training programs are being held to professionalize the traffic officials, that include ethical conduct and the negative effects of corruption.

Martín added that eradicating corruption from the police force is a difficult task and believes that the approval of the reforms to the Ley de tránsito, that includes punishing corrupt officers quickly, is required.

The current regulations can take up two years to fire a corrupt Tránsito official, according to minister Martín. The reformed law would cut that time to 17 days.

The reform, that includes increasing fines for traffic violation and tough on drunk drivers, was presented to the Legislative Assembly last December 1, but is currently taking a back seat to the free trade agreement discussions that are expected to begin this week.