The Judicial Investigation Department (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

: ''Organismo de Investigación Judicial'', OIJ) of

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

is a dependency of the Supreme Court of Justice which works in collaboration with the

Public Prosecutor of Costa Rica The Public Prosecutor's Office () of Costa Rica is the authority responsible for the legal prosecution of criminal acts within the state's legal system. It organises the investigation and prosecution of crimes affecting broader society. In inves ...

. The department was founded in 1973. Since October 2015, its director has been Walter Espinoza Espinoza. The department is a subsidiary body of the Public Prosecutor of Costa Rica which conducts the agency's criminal investigations in order to guarantee the impartiality, honesty and objectivity of its investigations. The

Organic Law An organic law is a law, or system of laws, that form the foundation of a government, corporation or any other organization's body of rules. A constitution is a particular form of organic law. By country France Under Article 46 of the Constitutio ...

of Costa stipulates that the OIJ should act independently and on their own initiative. It is given the authority to identity criminal offenders and to perform the preventive apprehension of alleged offenders. The department also collects, secures, and manages the evidence and other background information necessary for the investigation.

Organisational structure

The administration of the department is overseen by the ''General Directorate'' and the ''General Secretariat''. The General Directorate manages the entire organisation and coordinates interdepartmental activities. The General Secretariat oversees the organisation's budget and the allocation of resources and people to its respective departments. The organisations internal departments include the ''Department of Criminal Investigations'' and the ''Department of Forensics''.

Criminal Investigations Department

The Criminal Investigation Department is responsible for searching for and collecting the necessary evidence to construct a criminal case. The department also oversees the Museum of Criminology, which is located in the building of the OIJ in the First Judicial Circuit of San Jose. It is composed of the following divisions: * Crimes * Frauds * Economic and Financial Crimes * Narcotics * Homicides * Property crime * Thefts * Assaults and vehicles theft support division * Juvenile delinquency division * Transit specialists * Various crimes and kidnappings division * Sexual Crimes * Family and Against Life * Complaint reception * Incarceration and transportations * Police Service Immediate Intervention (SPII) * Plans and Operations * Research Background Screeners * Armory

Department of Forensics

The Forensics department is located Forensic Complex in San Joaquín de Flores. Its primary function is to carry out the

autopsies An autopsy (also referred to as post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death; ...

and other scientific examinations. The Forensic Science Laboratory technically analyzes each of the evidence gathered during investigations, conducting counterfeiting detection, forensic biology,

biochemistry Biochemistry, or biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology, a ...

ballistics Ballistics is the field of mechanics concerned with the launching, flight behaviour and impact effects of projectiles, especially weapon munitions such as bullets, unguided bombs, rockets and the like; the science or art of designing and acceler ...

analytical chemistry Analytical skill, Analytical chemistry studies and uses instruments and methods to Separation process, separate, identify, and Quantification (science), quantify matter. In practice, separation, identification or quantification may constitute t ...

toxicology Toxicology is a scientific discipline, overlapping with biology, chemistry, pharmacology, and medicine, that involves the study of the adverse effects of chemical substances on living organisms and the practice of diagnosing and treating ex ...

navigational transit Piloting or pilotage is the process of navigating on water or in the air using fixed points of reference on the sea or on land, usually with reference to a nautical chart or aeronautical chart to obtain a fix of the position of the vessel or air ...

planimetry Euclidean geometry is a mathematical system attributed to ancient Greek mathematics, Greek mathematician Euclid, which he described in his textbook on geometry, ''Euclid's Elements, Elements''. Euclid's approach consists in assuming a small set ...

, and the analysis of photo and video evidence. The Department of Forensics is composed of several different divisions specializing in: *

Medical jurisprudence Medical jurisprudence or legal medicine is the branch of science and medicine involving the study and application of scientific and medical knowledge to legal problems, such as inquests, and in the field of law. As modern medicine is a legal ...

Forensic pathology Forensic pathology is pathology that focuses on determining the cause of death by examining a corpse. A post mortem examination is performed by a medical examiner or forensic pathologist, usually during the investigation of criminal law cases ...

Psychiatry Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of deleterious mental disorder, mental conditions. These include matters related to cognition, perceptions, Mood (psychology), mood, emotion, and behavior. ...

and

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

Occupational medicine Occupational and Environmental Medicine (OEM), previously called industrial medicine, is a board certified medical specialty under the American Board of Preventative Medicine that specializes in the prevention and treatment of work-related ill ...

* Evidence storage * Canine Unit

Criticism

The OIJ has been criticized for its illegal surveillance of '' Diario Extra'' journalist Manuel Estrada, who had written an article critical of the OIJ. In a victory for

press freedom Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic media, especially published materials, should be considered a right to be exerc ...

and

citizen journalist Citizen journalism, also known as collaborative media, participatory journalism, democratic journalism, guerrilla journalism, grassroots journalism, or street journalism, is based upon members of the community playing an active role in the pro ...

s, Judge Ernesto Jinesta Lobo of the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court condemned the OIJ for conducting illegal

wiretaps Wiretapping, also known as wire tapping or telephone tapping, is the monitoring of telephone and Internet-based conversations by a third party, often by covert means. The wire tap received its name because, historically, the monitoring connecti ...

to identify the sources used by Estrada for his article. In addition to bona-fide journalists, Judge Lobo ruled that citizen journalists (those who “regularly contribute” to reporting or

public opinion Public opinion, or popular opinion, is the collective opinion on a specific topic or voting intention relevant to society. It is the people's views on matters affecting them. In the 21st century, public opinion is widely thought to be heavily ...

) also have the right to be shielded from prosecutorial abuses of surveillance. Further criticism of the department has stemmed from its practice of automatic dismissal of investigations related to

intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, co ...

crimes up until 2011.

References

{{Institutions of Costa Rica Institutions of Costa Rica Law of Costa Rica Organizations established in 1973 Supreme Court of Justice of Costa Rica

Organisational structure

Criminal Investigations Department

Department of Forensics

Criticism

See also

References