PHILIPSBURG:--- The Law Enforcement Council (hereafter: the Council) has, in its first 10 years of its existence, from 2010 to 2020, carried out 51 (review)inspections on various social themes. Recently, the 2020 State of Law Enforcement was published in which the Council, based on the States of the previous years, 17 relevant factors, and the findings of the Council throughout the years, looks back at developments within law enforcement in Sint Maarten. The relevant factors range from a legal framework, policy, facilities, and work processes to statistics, enforcement & compliance, personnel affairs, and capacity.
The State of 2020 describes the positive developments, but it also addresses the challenges facing the country Sint Maarten, the justice organizations, as well as the entire law enforcement over the past 10 years. The Council hopes that the described developments provide useful insight into what has been achieved under the circumstances, as well as awareness of the bottlenecks. The common thread in the narrative of the past 10 years is the dedicated efforts of all involved within the justice, and for which the Council expresses its admiration.
Lack of support
A positive aspect that has become stronger throughout the years, is the cooperation with the stakeholders. At the same time, there is still a lot of room for improvement. An issue that has been continuously raised is the lack of support of the local government. In almost every (review)inspection, the Council concluded that the necessary support is generally lacking. According to the Council, the consequences of political instability since 2010 with five Parliament elections, five governing programs, and nine (interim) Ministers of Justice, is evident in the justice field. “The many changes - often characterized by transitional periods and new/unique visions, different priorities, many staff changes, and diverse approaches - have generally contributed to a stagnation in the development of the various justice services, and law enforcement as a whole.” In the past year, the Council also repeatedly concluded and pointed out that the necessary preconditions for a proper execution of tasks by the justice organizations are too often lacking.
Vulnerability of law enforcement
In its State of 2016, the Council analyzed its inspections and found that most of the recommendations can be traced back to 17 factors that are important for the proper functioning of the organizations and for the entire justice chain. The Council concluded that the functioning of law enforcement was mostly poor, largely due to the lack of means, capacity, and facilities. The conclusions of the Council over the period of 2010-2016, were unfortunately also valid in 2017 at which time an increase of a lack of means was also noted. Hurricane Irma which hit Sint Maarten in September 2017 and caused a lot of damage, revealed the vulnerability of enforcement, a fact the Council had already pointed out in previous years. Sint Maarten became a disaster area in one swoop and justice organizations were confronted with extreme situations in order to keep public order and safety. “Despite not being prepared, the organizations were still able to maintain public order by improvising, using very scarce resources, and cooperating with local and Kingdom partners. Taken more broadly, it must be concluded that Country St. Maarten was absolutely not prepared: the necessary infrastructure, disaster and relief coordination were far from optimal.”
This is why the Council in 2017, indicated that St. Maarten, both before and after becoming a country, was unable to safeguard law enforcement on its own, given the absence of full government attention, and the lack of sufficient means and policymaking.
Important topics
In its State of 2020, the Council zooms in on specific and very important topics such as the prison, victim support, the Miss Lalie Center (MLC), human trafficking and human smuggling, drug crime, and domestic violence. Based on its review reports on the prison, the Council concluded in 2018, that the prison in its current state was completely unsuitable both in terms of humane detention and as a workplace. Throughout the years, the Council advocated that from both a national (Country Sint Maarten) and a broader Kingdom point of view, the prison must be made to comply with the (inter) national laws and regulations and standards as soon as possible. The Council anticipated an active role (as much possible) for the Ministry of Justice (also specifically for the prison), Country Sint Maarten and the Kingdom.
“In 2020, human rights remained at risk, but the Sint Maarten Government made a concrete commitment to the construction of a new prison and earmarked funds for this purpose. In collaboration with the Netherlands, the Minister of Justice is making a concrete commitment in 2020 to the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) to make this a reality.”
In various reports, the Council dedicated attention to (the lack of) structural victim support and the problematic intake of victims. The Council concluded after three (review)inspections (2012, 2016 and 2019) that there was still no provision for victim support. The initiatives and plans of the past years have not led to any form of structural assistance for victims to date. There has been a (systematic) lack of follow-up to the recommendations on this topic. “One of the Minister of Justice’s priorities for 2020 was domestic violence. In this context, plans have once again been drafted to establish (an office for) victim support. The Council reiterates the importance of having victim support on St. Maarten and the consequences its absence will have on confidence in law enforcement.”
The arrival of the juvenile rehabilitation center MLC in 2013, specifically for boys aged 12 to 18, can be described as a milestone for Sint Maarten. From September 2017 to 2018, the Council had serious concerns about the MLC because of its closure during that period. With the reopening of the MLC mid-2019, an important step was taken to - once more - send the right message to the youth. “The lack of educational programs at the MLC in 2020 was of particular concern. Although plans are in place, the Council is deeply troubled about this situation and urges that a solution is found.”
The Council conducted inspections in the countries (Curacao and Sint Maarten, plus the Caribbean Netherlands) related to the topic of human trafficking and human smuggling and specifically reviewed the extent to which the approach to human trafficking and human smuggling is shaped within the Kingdom and whether it contributes to preventing and combating these crimes. Based on the findings of the inspection, the Council concluded that there was room for improvement in international and interregional cooperation to prevent and combat human trafficking and human smuggling. In the Council’s opinion, great strides can be made through strengthening international and interregional cooperation.
The Council in 2020 conducted inspections related to drug crimes and looked at the extent to which the approach to dealing with drug crimes and drug-related problems was shaped in and between the countries within the Kingdom and how said approach contributes to combating and preventing these activities. The Council noted that the approach is focused on preventing international drug trafficking at the border. The Council noticed a positive development in terms of the strengthening of border control on Sint Maarten where organizations with a border control function became increasingly professional and pursued cooperation. The Council also detected a downward spiral in which drug use and socioeconomic and psychosocial problems perpetuate each other. The Council considered the lack of a prevention policy from the Sint Maarten Government unacceptable. Furthermore, addiction care should be of high quality and accessible to everyone.
In its report about domestic violence of June 2020, the Council concluded that the policy, protocols, criteria, and procedures needed to properly address domestic violence have not yet been finalized and/or are absent. The implementation of tasks and procedures in practice also needs improvement e.g., in the reporting and referral process. The Council recognizes the limitations faced by each organization, but the Council believes that the approach to domestic violence can be improved by organizations if (improved) knowledge about the various available interventions are available and are better coordinated. To encourage a more coordinated approach, a common goal, vision, and consistency, an inter-ministerial policy is urgently needed. In all of its reports, the Council made a number of recommendations to the Minister of Justice to improve the subject matter that was inspected. In 2020, the Council started a general review on Sint Maarten with regard to the status of all recommendations from the reports of 2012 to 2018. Given a large number of reports, the review is carried out in sub-inspections. The Council repeatedly pointed out in the past years that the reports are not presented to Parliament as prescribed by law. It is not known to the Council whether Parliament has requested such. The Council previously outlined the responsibilities of each party and, specifically the framing, monitoring, and budgeting role of Parliament. Given that constant involvement is a prerequisite for the development and preservation of law enforcement, the Council re-emphasizes the importance in the 2020 State.
Cooperation
Sint Maarten – and more specifically law enforcement – from 2010 up to mid-2017 was about the development of a new country with predominantly new organizations and all that this entailed. From the third quarter of 2017 up to today, the focus has been on reconstruction, and it has become increasingly apparent that more investments are being made regarding cooperation. The vulnerability of law enforcement became visible again in 2020. The consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic not only showed discrepancies between the justice organizations but again exposed the vulnerability of law enforcement and how dependent Sint Maarten is on this same law enforcement to secure general safety. “It became clear again during the pandemic that the solution – partly in view of the dire financial situation – lies in the intensive cooperation both within and between the countries.”
The Council considers it positive that since 2017 more efforts to cooperate are being made, also on a ministerial level. “The level of assistance, in particular for the police, the prison, and the National Detectives Agency, the associated positive developments and also the consequences that are directly evident when assistance ends, demonstrate once more the necessity of continued collaboration to be able to independently perform the autonomous tasks. The Council’s appeal issued to the government in its State of 2017 to give law enforcement the attention it needs, and as such to put cooperation within the Kingdom first, was repeated in subsequent years. In this State, we repeat this appeal.”
According to the Council, more can be gained in terms of cooperation between the countries of the Kingdom, by making more use of the Charter. Joining forces between the countries could promote the functioning of the Kingdom. Opportunities for consultation under Article 37 of the Charter could be better utilized, arriving at cooperation agreements on an equal basis under Article 38 of the Charter. “The idea that the chain is as strong as its weakest link applies mutatis mutandis to the Kingdom. When one country fails, the Kingdom also fails. A clear example of this is the prison system. It is not the individual countries but the Kingdom, as a whole, that bears international responsibility for compliance with international standards.”
Future challenges
The Council notes in its closing remarks: “St. Maarten, in the past 10 years, both by choice (constitutional changes) and through disaster (hurricanes and pandemic) has been mainly dominated by change, development, recovery, and reconstruction. In this regard, it can be noted that society is constantly (more) subject to change and thus marked not only by improvements but also by ever-increasing complexity, problems, flexibility, and interdependence. This, more than ever, demands an integrated approach and requires strong organizations that can contribute effectively to law enforcement not just on their own but especially as part of the chain.”
In the Council's opinion, the aforementioned is a good illustration of the fact that, given the complexity with which law enforcement is faced, cooperation is the key. In its State of 2020, which looks back at 10 years of law enforcement, the Council expresses the hope that lessons have been learned from the past 10 years and that all parties involved will (continue to) use this acquired experience for the benefit of law enforcement.
The State of 2020 report and the other publications of the Council can be found on the website www.raadrechtshandaving.com of http://rrh-sxm.org.
