PHILIPSBURG:--- In an effort to introduce secondary school students to the criminal justice sector in St. Maarten, the Honorable Minister of Justice Anna E. Richardson has relaunched the second edition of the annual Justice Sector Essay Contest (JSEC). Similar to the first edition which took place in 2021, the second edition of the JSEC aims to encourage students to pursue a career in the criminal justice field. The Management of Klass Electronics learned about the JSEC contest and in alignment with their support for the youth, has offered to collaborate with the Ministry of Justice with the awarding of prizes for the winners.
The criminal justice system is an organization that is directly involved in apprehending, prosecuting, defending, sentencing, and punishing those who are suspected or convicted of criminal offenses. The system ripples through the community from top to bottom and is interconnected in ways that affect a large percentage of the population daily. It is comprised of multiple interrelated organizations including law enforcement, the courthouse, correctional institutions, public prosecutors, and defense lawyers. The system is designed to deliver justice for all by protecting the innocent, deterring and mitigating crime, sanctioning those who violate laws with criminal penalties and rehabilitation efforts, and most importantly providing a fair and just process to help maintain order across the country.
Although the criminal justice system is of great importance for the functioning of our society, the influx of local professionals into this field is quite meager. To arouse the interests of students on St. Maarten and encourage them to broaden their career perspective to include professions in the criminal justice sector, Minister Richardson re-introduced this written assignment in which students are asked to write an essay from the perspective of professionals in the justice sector. The objective for the students is to place themselves in one of the positions of, for example, the Minister of Justice or the Chief of Police and describe three major things they would like to accomplish in holding that position.
The Justice Sector Essay Contest has been rolled out in the secondary schools since the beginning of April 2022 and is an interactive way to get students better acquainted with the criminal justice system and spark their interests. The winners will be selected by the justice department heads based on general grading criteria. The prizes will include, amongst other things, spending a working day with the professional the winning students chose to write about.
Management of Klass Electronics expressed their interest in supporting this great cause and encourages positive thinking and community engagement. As such, Klass Electronics will be participating in the initiative by awarding winners with educational electronics to encourage further online learning. This addition is exciting for the students and is very much appreciated by Minister Richardson.
Minister Richardson stated, “As Minister of Justice, I am elated that local business Klass Electronics recognizes the influence that such causes can have on the development of St. Maarten’s future. As such, I thank and commend their efforts in collaborating with this year’s second edition of the essay contest. Thus far, a number of schools have confirmed their participation and we are extremely excited about this. The committees of each agency within the Justice chain are looking forward to reading all the essays and identifying the winners of this year.”
“Klass Electronics believes in supporting the youth of our own country for a promising tomorrow. The essay competition encourages young individuals to think of not only their future but the future of St. Maarten. As a local business, we always believe in supporting the local environment and the people of St. Maarten. Through technology, there are many ways that progression can be made on the island, and having the right people make use of this technology is key to securing a brighter future. We are strongly invested in the youth of our country,” stated Management of Klass Electronics.
The deadline for submission of the essays is May 30, 2022. Minister Richardson invites all secondary students (ages 15 and up) to participate in this initiative. Should you need any further information, please do not hesitate to submit your questions to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
