PHILIPSBURG:--- With prison space under pressure, Parliament is being asked to consider whether places should be freed at Pointe Blanche before an urgent request arrives to hold a newly arrested suspect.
The proposal emerged during a parliamentary debate on crime and detention capacity. MP Sjamira Roseburg questioned whether the current approach leaves authorities reacting only when the Prosecutor’s Office says it needs space immediately. She suggested assessing eligible prisoners closer to release earlier, so cells would be available when police need them.
Roseburg cited an estimated 80 places at Pointe Blanche, plus approximately eight in another section. She presented those figures in her remarks, and SMN News independently confirmed them.
Her concern was that limited capacity could weaken the consequences people consider when committing a crime. She asked whether a known number of available places might change that calculation, especially among young offenders who believe they will soon be back on the street.
But freeing space in advance would mean releasing some prisoners sooner. Roseburg asked the Justice Ministry to examine whether Article 137 could permit such a step where a shortage of space is foreseeable, rather than waiting until the need becomes urgent. She framed this as a question for legal and operational review, not as a decision already taken.
That review would have to establish who could qualify, who would decide, and whether the law permits release based on anticipated demand for cells. It would also need to weigh the consequences for victims and public safety. The parliamentary remarks supplied do not include the minister’s answer or establish that any advance-release plan has been approved.
The underlying problem remains immediate: police and prosecutors need detention places when a case requires them, while Pointe Blanche has limited capacity. Whether the proposed approach can provide those places lawfully and safely is the question now put to the Justice Ministry.