Great Bay, St. Maarten – Local Chief of Police, Governor of the Island Territory of St. Maarten, Mr. Franklyn Richards, says that he has, with great concern, taken note of a final report drafted by the Dutch WODC centre, regarding organized crime on St. Maarten. 

WODC (Scientific Investigative and Documentation Centre), which is associated with the Dutch Ministry of Justice prepared the report in conjunction with the Curacao-based Forensic Services Caribbean N.V. The report has been officially presented to the Netherlands Antilles Minister of Justice, who is in Holland on a working visit.  

The report was prepared against the background of concerns raised about organized crime on the islands of the Netherlands Antilles.  

In 2004, the then Minister of Justice of the Netherlands Antilles commissioned a study that aimed to chart the types of organized crime taking place on the islands of Saba, St. Eustatius and St. Maarten and the methods  used to combat such crime activity. 

The main issue that the study was to address was the nature, seriousness and scope of organized crime on the islands that form part of the Netherlands Antilles, and on St. Maarten in particular, and to what extent the relevant (law enforcement) bodies are equipped to combat this form of crime effectively. 

The study paints a picture of a considerable problem with regards to crime on St. Maarten. One of the most specific forms of crime on the island is drug-related crime. The reason for this, says the report, is that St. Maarten plays an important and varied role within the (international) drugs trade.

The report further mentions that “a problematic situation also applies in relation to financial and economic crime” but notes that “the unsatisfactory involvement of investigative and law enforcement agencies has created a situation in which it is difficult to establish precisely the scope of such activities and their links to organized crime”. 

In addition to drugs and financial and economic crimes, people smuggling and trafficking in human beings were also examined during the course of this study. The report confirms that concerns exist regarding the availability of weapons and the increasing prevalence of crimes involving firearms that are being committed on the island.  

With regard to terrorism, the data gathered for the purposes of the WODC study do not seem to indicate an acute threat of terrorist attack, says a summary of the report findings. “There are indications, however, that money flows are passing through the island to organizations in the Middle East that may be linked to activities associated with terrorism”, states the report. 

“As far as legislation and regulation and law enforcement policy are concerned, progress has been made”, notes the 189-page report.  

Governor Richards says that as Local Chief of Police, he is particularly concerned about findings of the crime situation and organized crime on the island, not because contents of the report are entirely new, but because “this detailed three-year study acutely underscores the need for timely implementing of measures”. 

He is of the opinion that “it is crucial that present trends and developments with regards to crime on St. Maarten be put to a halt,  certainly now that much of what we read in this report, confirms reports or suspicions which have existed for some time”. However, many statements in the WODC report are still based on assumptions and not on hard facts. Nevertheless, these signals need serious attention.Richards regrets that in some Dutch newspapers, St. Maarten has been depicted as a ‘paradise for criminals’. 

The Safety Plan St. Maarten, presented in May of this year, dedicates attention to many of the issues mentioned in the WODC report.  “That is not to say that the WODC report was superfluous”, says the Local Chief of Police, who welcomes the WODC study, for painting a broad picture of the crime situation on St. Maarten and for highlighting certain institutional bottlenecks, which are sporadically ignored, when discussing crime on St. Maarten. The Safety Plan St. Maarten is “evidence that St. Maarten has not disregarded the problem and has also taken initiatives to address likely solutions”, says Richards. 

Encouraging to note, says Richards, is that the WODC report mentions several recommendations, in order to curb the present cycle of crime related activities. The report states, among others, that “in addition to knowledge and expertise, what is needed are sufficient personnel and the necessary tools; in other words, a suitable operational infrastructure to ensure effective enforcement of the law”.  

In elaborating further, the authors of the report remark that the “multiplicity of circumstances, arising from the logistical (harbor and airport) and the economic infrastructure (banking system) that are available on St. Maarten and which provide opportunities for drug smuggling, people smuggling and illegal financial transactions are being addressed using controls and powers that, do not reflect, or hardly reflect, the scope of the problems”. 

Governor Richards finds it regrettable, though, that no attention is paid, in the report, to one essential aspect, namely how to fund the implementing of the recommendations listed.He, nonetheless, remains optimistic that the matter of safety for St. Maarten will be getting the required attention and that the funding and resources would indeed be made available, albeit via the Plan Safety Netherlands Antilles or through any other source. The Local Chief of Police expects that the WODC report will stimulate this development and therefore welcomes the report. 

Richards believes that combating organized crime is not the exclusive responsibility of the island government of St. Maarten alone. He says that it is also that of all the partners comprising the judicial and law enforcement chain of the Netherlands Antilles and the Dutch Kingdom. 

“We need a joint and effective approach, which entails that all instances are adequately equipped with the necessary trained personnel and resources”, says St. Maarten’s Local Chief of Police. 

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