The public force located in downtown Nosara is just doing rounds in the neighborhoods that officers can reach on foot, according to Nosara Chief Gerardo Aguilar Aguilar. For anything farther away, they are calling on the tourist police in Guiones for help. This is because both vehicles are out of service with clutch problems. The supposedly new patrol unit received by the police in late July wasn't really new, explained Aguilar; it already had 88,000 kilometers registered with no guarantee on the clutch, which will cost 570,000 colones ($1140) to repair.

At present, to communicate with the public force in Nosara, people must either go to the station or call Nicoya. Photo Pinar Istek

Funds to repair the vehicle are not available at the moment, so Aguilar said the police will be reaching out to local businesses and others in an attempt to raise the money.

In addition, the police delegation has been without a phone for several months now. The phone was previously paid for by the Nosara Integral Development Association (ADIN), but according to Marco Avila, ADIN president, the association canceled the phone line because of abuse and misuse.

Aguilar explained that they had some bills of around 30,000 colones ($60), but he doesn't consider the amount to be expensive since the police have to call the family judge or the district attorney's office when there is a situation or a suspect detained. Currently they are using their personal cell phones to make these calls. Aguilar said he personally has had to recharge up to 6000 colones ($12) per week on his phone.

Avila said that ADIN will resume paying for the public force's phone when they can get the line changed to one that only receives incoming calls. For now, the police will remain without a landline. In the meantime, to report a concern by phone, people can call the public force in Nicoya at 2686-7266 and the concern will be relayed to the Nosara police.