Law Enforcement presents the State of Law Enforcement 2018

News Release

To: All Media / Print & Broadcast

August 6, 2019

Law Enforcement Council presents 2018 State of Law Enforcement

(Philipsburg, Sint Maarten) – The Law Enforcement Council (“the Council”) in its recently published 2018 State of Law Enforcement noted that there is certainly a willingness to rebuild the law enforcement sector in St. Maarten. However, as a result of the financial situation of the country, Government has not been able to structurally strengthen law enforcement as yet. Despite this, there is still attention for law enforcement.

During the reconstruction, steps have been made in the right direction, the Council stated in a press release on Tuesday, August 6. The key issues in 2018 for law enforcement were strengthening Sint Maarten’s border security, the severe problems at the Pointe Blanche prison and detention center, and the closure of the Miss Lalie Center.

The Council is tasked each year with providing the Sint Maarten Minister of Justice with a report regarding the State of Law Enforcement in Sint Maarten (“the State”), based on inspections carried out in the previous year. The State also provides an overview of the developments that had the most impact on law enforcement in Sint Maarten in that year. The report is presented directly to Parliament. Reflecting upon the year 2018, the Council in its press release highlighted a few of the topics discussed in the 2018 State of Law Enforcement.

2018: the year of recovery

During its inspections in the year 2018, the Council again observed great involvement and responsibility on the part of the employees of the various law enforcement agencies. The year 2018 was a year of recovery for Sint Maarten, also as it pertains to law enforcement. The Council showed understanding for the situation in which the country, and by extension law enforcement, has been finding itself in after the hurricanes of 2017.

Strengthening Border Security

In the context of reconstructing the country, Sint Maarten and the Netherlands in 2018 reached an agreement regarding strengthening border security in Sint Maarten for people and goods. This agreement was formalized in the Mutual Arrangement on Strengthening Border Security (“Onderlinge regeling versterking grenstoezicht”). One of the goals of this Mutual Arrangement is to prevent cross-border crime. The influx of illegal migrant workers and cross-border crime such as human trafficking and human smuggling form a threat to Sint Maarten. In 2018, the focus of the justice sector has been on these types of crime as well.

Victim Support

For years the Council has been raising awareness for (the lack of) victim support services and reiterating its importance to society. The Council concluded that there was no structural victim support effort in 2018 either. The Council believes this has affected and continues to affect the level of information and assistance provided to victims, their willingness to file reports with the police, and their confidence in law enforcement. Moreover, sheltering victims remains problematic.

Pointe Blanche prison and remand center

The Council has observed that the Sint Maarten Police Force (KPSM) has developed in the desired direction. The Pointe Blanche prison, however, remains behind with regard to living up to (inter)national minimum requirements. In 2018 the Council even had to conclude that the prison was unsuitable as a work environment as well as for detention. The Council once again emphasized the importance of dealing with serious issues regarding detention in a structural manner as soon as possible. The Council also noted in this context the collective responsibility of Government to set priorities – such as in the budget – and to provide for accompanying realistic planning. This applies to all serious problems within the justice sector.

Juvenile Rehabilitation: Miss Lalie Center (MLC)

Because of the hurricanes, Sint Maarten lost its juvenile rehabilitation center in 2018. The MLC has not been operational since September 2017. This means that juveniles who committed an (often serious) offense spent a few days, at most, at the police station’s cell complex, after which they had to be sent away because of the lack of sufficient detention facilities for juveniles. In addition, ankle monitors were temporarily unavailable. The MLC’s shutdown meant a loss of a critical final element in the fight against juvenile delinquency. This situation also had immediate consequences for the performance of the juvenile rehabilitation and (non-)intervention tasks of the Court of Guardianship. The Council expressed worries about the youth, the overall public safety, and the wrong signal that was sent by law enforcement: that they could not adequately respond to criminal conduct by juveniles.

In the second half of 2018, steps were taken to rebuild the MLC. It will now take much effort to correct the wrong impression given to the youth. In this regard, the Council emphasized the importance of reopening the MLC as soon as possible. To this date the juvenile rehabilitation center still has not reopened.

Attention for other organizations

The Council noticed that at the moment most attention is being paid to two specific organizations within the justice sector, namely the police force and the prison, while there are significant problems in other organizations as well. These organizations lack necessities such as housing, staff and resources. According to the Council, these organizations should receive the same attention and support from Government, especially considering the fact that together, the organizations constitute law enforcement and as such one cannot function without the other. The Council is asking authorities to pay urgent attention to this aspect, emphasizing that the other organizations cannot stay behind in the prioritization. The conclusion of the Council in 2017 in this regard remained the same in 2018, namely: Keep giving the well-deserved and necessary attention to the organizations within the justice sector that strive on a daily basis to keep our community safe. There is still a lot to be done.

Cooperation and assistance

Lastly, the Council stated that it was pleased that law enforcement in 2018 was characterized by cooperation and assistance. This was visible within and between the judicial organizations on an (inter)island level, as well as on a Kingdom level. The Council has often cited the benefits of working together, that is why it can only praise and encourage everyone involved in this development. This all to the benefit of law enforcement, stated the Council which will continue to keep a keen eye on this and all other developments within the justice sector.

The State of Law Enforcement 2018 and all other reports can be found on www.raadrechtshandhaving.com or http://rrh-sxm.org.

END

===============

44 comments on “Law Enforcement presents the State of Law Enforcement 2018”

345881 40944woah i like yur website. It genuinely helped me with the info i wus searching for. Appcriciate it, will bookmark. 524277

453971 970373I believe this web web site has got really superb indited articles content . 198599

870561 535785Depending on yourself to make the decisions can genuinely be upsetting and frustrating. It takes years to build confidence. Frankly it takes much more than just happening to happen. 828976

198824 126860Nie and informative post, your every post worth atleast something. 198242

832909 549993I enjoy seeking via and I conceive this website got some truly useful stuff on it! . 537700

744596 975915Very interesting topic , thanks for posting . 49435

230518 586494View the following suggestions less than and locate to know how to observe this situation whilst you project your home business today. Earn dollars from home 5223

obviously like your web site however you need to take a look at the spelling on quite a few of your posts. A number of them are rife with spelling problems and I to find it very bothersome to inform the reality nevertheless I¦ll surely come again again.

Admiring the persistence you put into your site and in depth information you offer. It’s good to come across a blog every once in a while that isn’t the same outdated rehashed material. Great read! I’ve bookmarked your site and I’m including your RSS feeds to my Google account.

I was wondering if you ever thought of changing the structure of your site? Its very well written; I love what youve got to say. But maybe you could a little more in the way of content so people could connect with it better. Youve got an awful lot of text for only having 1 or 2 pictures. Maybe you could space it out better?

Thank you for sharing excellent informations. Your web-site is very cool. I am impressed by the details that you have on this web site. It reveals how nicely you perceive this subject. Bookmarked this website page, will come back for more articles. You, my friend, ROCK! I found simply the information I already searched all over the place and just could not come across. What a perfect site.

Still, itisultra-exclusive and, unlike porn comic most dating apps, requires an software to affix.

Rudy Giuliani, a Trump ally who himself has confronted porn huh criminal investigations into his conduct.

Fantastic article post.Thanks Again. Cool.

Remarkable issues here. I am very glad to peer your post.Thank you a lot and I am having a look ahead to contact you.Will you please drop me a mail?

Which Genshin Influence cosplay do you wish to be? ACcosplay Genshin Effect cosplay outfit will certainly make you feel like walking into the game with genuine style

Oh my goodness! Amazing article dude! Thanks, However I am having issues with your RSS. I don’t know why I am unable to subscribe to it. Is there anyone else having similar RSS issues? Anyone who knows the solution will you kindly respond? Thanx!!

Regards for helping out, wonderful information. Those who restrain desire, do so because theirs is weak enough to be restrained. by William Blake.

I’m not sure where you are getting your information, but great topic.I needs to spend some time learning much more orunderstanding more. Thanks for wonderful information Iwas looking for this information for my mission.

You made some first rate points there. I seemed on the internet for the issue and located most people will go together with with your website.

Hey there! Do you use Twitter? I’d like to follow you if that would be ok.I’m undoubtedly enjoying your blog and look forward to newupdates.

Hey, thanks for the blog post.Really thank you! Awesome.

Hello! This post couldn’t be written any better! Reading this post reminds me of myprevious room mate! He always kept chatting about this. I will forward this article to him.Pretty sure he will have a good read. Thank you for sharing!

Seriously many of beneficial information!how to write a similarities and differences essay write my essay best online writing services

Aw, this was a really good post. Taking a few minutesand actual effort to create a very good article

Hi there to all, since I am truly keen ofreading this blog’s post to be updated daily. It includes fastidious data.

Sprawdź ranking na chwilówka online i weź szybką pożyczkę internetową lub kredyt przez internet.

Your manner of addressin this subject is both remarkable and inspiring.

It’s going to be finish of mine day, exceptbefore ending I am reading this great post to improve my know-how.

Heya i’m for the primary time here. I came across this board and I find It truly useful & it helped me out much. I hope to offer something back and aid others such as you helped me.

Belief PickupFlowers for the perfect in flowerdelivery.

Watch blonde chicks live in activity Are you seeking ravishing blonde chicks? Well, youre pretty much in luck because Blonde cams are live now!

Simply want to say your article is as amazing. The clarity on your put up is simply great and that i could think you’re knowledgeable in this subject. Well together with your permission let me to take hold of your RSS feed to keep up to date with drawing close post. Thank you a million and please keep up the gratifying work.

Appreciate you sharing, great article post.Really looking forward to read more. Keep writing.

Major thanks for the post.Really looking forward to read more. Cool.

You’ll need to manually enable Flash if you wish touse it.

Among the best strategies to spend your getaway time is as simple as outdoor camping out in the forests with nature! Ensure you are appropriately well prepared using the useful tips in the following article so you find out all you can about passing time in a woodland prior to deciding to lay out! Take a huge garbage travelling bag for dirtied washing laundry, while keeping it inside a convenient location, suitable for anyone within your party. Allow them to pack their apparel one by one, as it is then quicker to discover than if you stack it all in a group storing container or travelling bag. Throw in the dryer page to any case you desire smelling refreshing. If you are planning just about any backcountry outdoor camping, a necessity carry item is a fireplace basic starter kit. Should you be in the emergency scenario, blaze is ways to prepare, help you stay comfortable, detoxify h2o, and transmission for support. Several camping out stores promote fireplace newbies which can be used when drenched and never call for any energy. Also, try out generating blaze when you find yourself not inside a emergency scenario therefore you know you can accomplish it when the require occurs. Before you leave in your vacation, utilize your back garden to assist you to workout the kinks within your outdoor camping products. Put up your tent to ensure that you know (or bear in mind!) how you can place it up. This may also enable you to check if anything must be patched up. It is going to help it become very much simpler for you when investing in on the campsite. You could make scrumptious meals even when you are camping. You may not actually have to eat just franks and beans or hamburgers. Load a package with herbs and spices, olive oil, light brown sugar or whatever else you want. You are able to correct food who have flavoring even when you are “roughing” it. Since you now have a great concept concerning how to policy for your outdoor camping getaway, you can begin organizing and loading. Investigate the amazing things that nature has provided one to appreciate. Keep your video camera all set! You are likely to wish to capture as many recollections as possible on the following camping adventure.