The Government of Costa Rica announced that it will adopt the Salvadoran model to reform prison management.

After the visit of security officials from Costa Rica to El Salvador last week, last night the Government of Costa Rica, through a video released on the social media of the Presidency, announced that the country will activate a change in Costa Rican penitentiary policy.

the country will adopt the Zero Leisure Plan, a work scheme for people deprived of liberty inspired by the Salvadoran experience.

The Ministry of Justice and Peace reported that the goal is to reduce costs, expand production within prisons, and guide reintegration through trades. Productive work and public utility projects are expected under state supervision, with Salvadoran technical advice, according to Costa Rican authorities. The ministry also reported that it reviewed penitentiary infrastructure plans and lowered the estimated budget from USD 60 million to USD 35 million.

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The core of the plan is that time in prison is used for work and training activities. The Government maintains that the model seeks for the prison system to reduce operating expenses and that work serves as a tool for reintegration, with security criteria to determine who can access it.

The Salvadoran Model That Costa Rica Seeks to Replicate

Costa Rican officials visited the Industrial Center for the Fulfillment of Sentences in Santa Ana last week, where they observed clothing manufacturing programs, the manufacture of desks, and community tasks, according to the Ministry of Justice and Peace. The premise is to limit idle time and concentrate daily activity on production and maintenance. In that scheme, the reduction of sentence works as an incentive: for every 16 hours of work, one day of sentence is deducted, as detailed by the authorities. Minister Gerald Campos explained that the plan prioritizes inmates without a history of serious violence and that access depends on security assessments and a trust regime. Costa Rica has about 20 thousand people incarcerated, according to official figures mentioned by the Executive. The selection of the universe that will enter the program will be made with technical criteria, with the aim of concentrating the places in profiles of lower dangerousness. The Zero Leisure Plan developed in El Salvador is an initiative that allows those deprived of liberty to participate in social work and projects.

Penitentiary work, costs and production for the State

The Costa Rican government proposes that prison work should impact public procurement and the daily operation of the State. Campos maintained that the plan aims for inmates to cease being just a cost and begin contributing with the production of goods and maintenance tasks in public infrastructure. The official calculation indicates that each person deprived of liberty represents a monthly expense close to USD 1,000, according to the Ministry of Justice and Peace. With the new scheme, the system will seek to produce school furniture, uniforms, furniture and other supplies, in addition to supporting repairs and maintenance of public spaces. Official communication from the Government of Costa Rica. It shows calls for productivity and training. Images of a workshop with men working with wood and tools are observed, and an interview segment with Jonathan Garro, identified as Costa Rican. A sign language interpreter accompanies the narrative at various times. The content addresses a government program related to work and training, highlighting the absence of costs for participants. It concludes with the logo of the Presidency of the Republic.

An example cited by the authorities is the manufacturing of cabins for penitentiary centers, with a saving of more than 306 million colones (about USD 570,000). The ministry compared that figure with the financing of almost 1,700 educational scholarships or more than 3,500 monthly social pensions.

Incentives, Testimonials, and Plan Rules

The program will also eliminate the payment of economic incentives for the work, according to the official explanation, and replaces it with training and sentence reduction as the main mechanisms of stimulus. The Justice portfolio stated in the video that the goal is for vocational training to have an impact on employability upon regaining freedom. Within the workshops, participants cited by the authorities described the possibility of learning a trade as a tool to obtain income outside of prison. “Here I have the opportunity to learn something new, something I like and with which I can earn an honest living outside,” said one of the inmates, according to the video released by the ministry. The implementation includes coordination with other institutions and projects with verifiable public utility, according to Justice and Peace. The Government reported that it seeks to reinforce industrial equipment with contributions from the private sector, under state monitoring. Costa Rica has nearly 20,000 people incarcerated, according to official figures mentioned by the Executive. Source: Presidency of Costa Rica

Exclusions, Controls, and Legal Changes in Implementation

The plan excludes those deprived of liberty from maximum security. More than 2 thousand inmates considered high-containment will not be able to join the productive programs, according to Costa Rican authorities, who justified the measure based on risk and control criteria.

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The Government also anticipated regulatory adjustments and reinforcement of police forces as part of the deployment of the scheme, according to the Ministry of Justice and Peace. The administration maintained that the new model demands stricter controls and permanent coordination between the State and private actors to sustain the operation.