The Law Enforcement Council (the Council) presented its
State of Law Enforcement (the State) for the year 2023 directly to both the Minister of Justice
as well as to the Parliament of Sint Maarten, at the end of April 2024. The Council provides
in the State an overview of the inspections carried out in 2023 and the overarching relevant
topics. The Council also describes the developments in Sint Maarten and the state of affairs,
partly as a result of the agreements made on the basis of the topics of judicial cooperation
within the Judicial Quadripartite
The Council sees the topic of cooperation, for the law enforcement chain, as a necessity for
Sint Maarten. The State therefore builds on the topic of cooperation, focusing on the (topics
of) judicial cooperation between the countries.
Developments Sint Maarten
Several developments have taken place in 2023, with the most notable being advances in
the field of detention and the justice function book. The cooperation in the field of police, the
training provided, the cooperation between the Courts of Guardianship with regard to HALT
and the use of (possible) specialized equipment can be considered as positive
developments.
In addition, there are also topics that require even more efforts. In this context, topics such
as steering in general, steering on the follow-up of the Council's recommendations,
combating human trafficking and human smuggling, and combating money laundering and
terrorist financing can be mentioned as examples. The structural problems related to the
presence of essential preconditions at the various services, such as financial, human and
material capacity, also remain a cause for concern.
Furthermore, the Council again indicated that the Council's reports and the required
responses thereto are still not consistently presented to Parliament by the Minister of Justice
in accordance with the Kingdom Act Law Enforcement Council. The Council also discusses
the subject of 'systematic non-compliance with recommendations', noting that there is an
increasing number of topics that qualify for the aforementioned.
Judicial cooperation between countries
All countries want to strengthen their law enforcement chain in order to continue the fight
against increasingly complex and often cross-border crime. As crime does not care about
borders, it is increasingly apparent that countries need each other. Cooperation is and will
therefore continue to be necessary. There is therefore a dire need for cooperation. The
overarching topics highlighted in the State that require judicial cooperation are: police
cooperation, the JVO, forensic care and Placement in an Institution for Juveniles (PIJ), and
the sharing of information within the Kingdom.
Since 2016, the cooperation between the five police forces within the Kingdom has received
an impulse due to the intensification of regional cooperation. The starting point is that a joint
approach to cross-border crime is mutually beneficial, for example, regarding the exchange
of information and expertise.
One of the structural forms of Kingdom cooperation in the judicial field is the Judicial
Quadripartite Consultation. Through structural consultation, concrete agreements, supported
where necessary by personnel, material and/or financial support, mutual cooperation is
strengthened, and cross-border topics are jointly combated.
Care in a secure environment is ideally a theme that requires far-reaching cooperation
between the countries. The JVO has set up a Kingdom work group with the task of
formulating a "business case" in the field of forensic care, TBS and PIJ. Among other things,
the aim is to develop basic forensic care for all countries in the Caribbean part of the
Kingdom, including an overview of the financial and legal preconditions.
Sharing information within the Kingdom is of great importance for law enforcement. This is
widely acknowledged and recognized. Currently, due to new legislation since 2018, the
sharing of police and judicial data between the European part of the Kingdom and the
Caribbean part of the Kingdom is very complicated. To this end, work is underway on a
consensus Kingdom law aimed at providing an appropriate, adequate, and equal level of
protection for the processing of this data in all countries. In view of the time frame involved, a
workable interim solution is being sought.
In conclusion
The Council is of the opinion that, in addition to a vision for law enforcement, a combination
of steering, prioritization, a substantial investment in and between the services as well as
cooperation is key for Sint Maarten. In recent years, the Council has specifically pointed out
the minister's primary responsibility for these important topics. In 2023, the Council once
again notes that judicial staff continue to work every day for a safer society and expresses its
gratitude for this. The Council indicates in its State that, as always, it is looking forward to the
coming developments.
The State of Law Enforcement 2023 (available in Dutch and English) with infographic and all
other Council publications are available digitally on the following website:
www.raadrechtshandhaving.com.
