After two years of struggling, the Nosara Security Association (NSA) will finally receive financial assistance from the government to pay the rent for the community’s tourism police station.
The direct contract was made by the government through the Ministry of Public Security on October 17, which establishes a monthly payment of ¢472,189.61 ($872) to the anonymous association Ostra Del Mar S.A. for a period of three years.
The process was initiated by NSA in 2012 and since then the organization had confronted a variety of obstacles, mainly dealing with bureaucratic red tape with different government institutions, including the Secretary of Public Security, in an attempt to fulfill all legal requirements.
According to the Security Association’s estimates, the government may begin with the payments in December, as now the only steps remaining are the payment for some governmental stamps and signing the contract.
Steve Reyer, NSA’s president, said that “this is good news.”
Since 2008, NSA has been in charge of paying the rent and other expenses for the police station, which altogether total approximately ¢600,000 monthly ($1,110). However, in recent years, donations to cover those expenses have dropped by as much as 50%, according to NSA’s financial reports.
In exchange for covering the station’s rent the government imposed conditions of infrastructural improvements. These conditions involve improvements in: pipes, kitchen, walls, bathrooms, and ceilings, among others.
“We are asking [residents] to raise more money to help renovate their facility. We need to raise around $15,000 and ask people to donate labor as well,” Reyer said.
Most Want Surveillance Cameras
It was for that reason that NSA conducted a survey in August of this year, to understand the point of view of Nosara residents and determine whether the Association should continue to pay the police station’s rent.
Of the43 people who participated in the poll, 80% are United States and Canadian citizens who regularly live in Nosara.
The results showed that 56% of those surveyed are worried about robberies at their homes. Also, 29% responded that assaults are their second biggest concern.
Reyer said he thinks that the results of the survey were positive because they were able to obtain effective feedback from residents’ perspective. In addition, the results revealed the difficult security situation faced in Nosara, but he also recognized that the community is better off with the work of the tourism police than without it.
In the document, the NSA explained that the main motive for the survey was to understand whether the community wants for the tourist police to continue working in the community.
“The feedback we got from this survey was positive and we realized that we are definitely better off with them [the tourist police] than without them,” said Reyer.
The majority of those interviewed through the survey also expressed their hope that the tourism police would remain in Guiones and stated that they are willing to provide financial support for their services.
Another of the noteworthy results from the analysis was that 90% of those surveyed said that they would like to have police presence in Playas de Nosara and also have more police officers that speak English.
Finally, residents suggested that security cameras be installed on the main roadway through Nosara as another measure to improve security, as well as assigning guards to the beach.
Although the government did not impose conditions of infrastructural improvements in exchange for covering the station’s rent, the Security Association believes that they should be made in order to improve the officials’ work conditions.
“We are asking [residents] to raise more money to help renovate their facility. We need to raise around $15,000 and ask people to donate labor as well,” he concluded.
For request or donations, Security Association email [email protected]
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