The Chinchilla administration has outlined its security priorities for its first 100 days, choosing to focus its efforts on 10 communities and 20 educational centers.

Officials of the Public security ministry will develop intervention protocols for the communities chosen and initiate the first steps of their determined agenda.

The areas – which were identified because they require “special attention” – include Guararí de Heredia, the eastern San José suburbs of San Pedro and San Juan de Dios de Desamparados, and the central San José districts of León XIII, La Uruca, El Carmen, Hospital, Merced y Catedral. Outside of the Central Valley, the Cieneguita neighborhood of the Atlantic port city of Limón and the central Pacific cantón of Aguirre (Quepos) were targeted for special attention.

“One of the first measures of this government is to initiate actions to improve public safety,” President Laura Chinchilla said in a statement, adding that one of her first initiatives is boosting the police force by 180 officers.

In July, an additional 125 officers will be tagged on to police operations in Quepos and Limón.

Chinchilla, a former security minister who campaigned on a promise of improving public safety, will also focus on publishing the operational regulations of the Law against Organized Crime, install a new platform for judicial intervention and create an informational platform to confront organized crime.