CAT/OP/CRI/CSPRO/1 25. Signs of torture in living or deceased persons are detected through an interdisciplinary procedure carried out by a forensic physician. 26. In line with the Subcommittee’s recommendation, the Judicial Investigation Agency has taken steps to enable organizations such as the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to promote and strengthen the continuous training of the Agency’s staff at all levels. 27. The Ministry of Justice and Peace, in conjunction with relevant public institutions and with support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has commenced work on an interinstitutional reporting protocol whereby possible acts of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment committed against persons deprived of their liberty must be reported to the Public Prosecution Service. B. Use of pretrial detention (para. 25) 28. Regarding the training of judges, the Judicial Training College, a body of the judiciary, has organized various academic activities in 2020 related to the application and interpretation of alternatives to detention, focusing mainly on restorative justice and alternative mechanisms for the settlement of disputes. These activities are listed in the annex provided. 29. The annual training plan of the Knowledge Management Unit of the Public Defence Service covers the following subjects: • Precautionary measures • Strategic litigation for the human rights of prisoners • Remedies of habeas corpus and amparo • International human rights instruments. 30. These subjects have been incorporated into the curriculum in a cross-cutting manner that is geared towards professional, technical and auxiliary personnel. 31. The Public Prosecution Service has organized two training activities in 2020. One was related to torture in the Costa Rican prison system and the other was a talk on the expedited procedure for cases of flagrante delicto. 32. With the adoption of Act No. 9525 of 7 March 2018, an amendment was introduced in article 56 bis of the Criminal Code to afford judges greater latitude to make use of community service as an alternative to pretrial detention and custodial sentences. This Act was supplemented by regulations on the enforcement of community service sentences (Decree No. 41419 of 14 September 2009). 33. The Public Prosecution Service has taken a number of measures to reduce the duration of deprivation of liberty. One example is the issuance of General Instruction No. 01/2018, which contains several binding guidelines that prosecutors must immediately apply. C. Enforcement by committal for failure to pay alimony or child support (para. 28) 34. The Government takes note of the Subcommittee’s recommendation to prioritize the use of other effective means of obtaining payment of alimony and child support over enforcement by committal under the Alimony and Child Support Act. The Act does not give judges the power to decide whether or not to apply enforcement by committal; this would require a change in the law. Several bills have been introduced to regulate this issue, for example, by allowing the use of electronic monitoring as an alternative to enforcement by committal. GE.20-17766 5