Philipsburg:--- Identifying people who have worked hard and nominating them as person or persons of the year is often a challenging task for every publisher. Since the creation of SMN News Network (SMNN), we have nominated several persons of the year, some of them were nominated for their positive contribution while others for their negativity and how often they made the news in a bad light. Many persons have criticized us for awarding persons in the negative. However, we all know that the late Osama Bin Laden was not someone that was loved by the world but he too received a person of the year award. Our point is that selecting people is not only based on their positive performance or how many times they made the news but often times it is about how they made the news and their overall performance.
This year SMN News made no exceptions with our criteria and after looking back at the people that have made the news this year and those that worked behind the scenes we have decided to choose five people as Outstanding Persons of Year 2012.
Persons of the Year 2012.
Four of the five persons we selected this year came from the Korps Politie St. Maarten (KPSM). Currently, this department is headed by Chief Commissioner of Police Peter de Witte who has made it his duty to lead by example. However, we chose to credit the people that work under De Witte's command since they are the ones who are doing the work behind the scenes by leading the teams they head. Due to the hard work of these persons, the Police Force (KPSM) managed to bring the crime rate down to a satisfactory level.
The first person that came to mind is someone that everyone on St. Maarten knows. He is simple, always seen with his bag around his shoulder and at almost every crime scene on St. Maarten. Mr. Guillermo Jacinto Severo Krips, a Superintendent of Police was given the task as Chief of Serious Crimes in the Detective Department of KPSM.
Krips, as he is familiarly known to all, was also responsible for the Youth Affairs Department of KPSM. He joined the Police Force of the Netherlands Antilles on May 1st, 1971. He has given 41 years of service to the people of St. Maarten and will retire at the end of year. However, Krips was given a one year contract to remain with KPSM because of his expertise and willingness to serve and protect the people of this great nation. While we might see less of Krips on crime scenes, his presence will be with KPSM in another capacity for another year.
Those who know Krips would know that he is not afraid of anyone when it comes to performing his duty. One of the things he is known to do is look at people in their eyes despite their position and read them their rights when they are being arrested as a suspect in any type of crime. When several acting prosecutors and police were afraid; Krips stood up in front of his former boss Derrick Holiday and read him his rights when he was arrested, he also did the same for his former colleague Marcel Loor and many others whom he knew very well. It goes to show that being a Superintendent of Police for Mr. Guillermo Jacinto Severo Krips was serious business, he took pride in performing his duties and also tries his best to dot every (i) and cross every (t) when he is investigating some of the most gruesome murders on St. Maarten. While we have chosen to select Krips as one of the outstanding persons this year, we also took into consideration the brave men and women that worked under him on the teams he led.
The second outstanding person of 2012 for SMN News is another officer who hardly smiles with anyone, but he is someone who knows how to investigate armed robberies and can quickly identify the modus oprandi of any crime scene. He is no other than Mr. Delano Lincoln Baptist. Baptist is an Inspector of Police and he just recently took over the position that has been vacated by Krips. While his new position is temporary, Baptist is the team leader of the Armed Robbery Team (ATRACO). Baptist has served the police force of Aruba and St. Maarten for 33 years in total, he was transferred to St. Maarten on January 1st, 2007. Baptist has extensive knowledge in policing. He showed his expertises in 2011 when five people were murdered in one week. The investigation was called the Regatta murder investigation and investigated jointly with KPSM, RST, Marechaussee, Aruba, and Curacao Police Force. However, when the RST concluded that the five murders, including a Haitian security guard were drug related, Delano Baptist fought tooth and nail with his colleagues until he convinced them that the Modus oprandi of the five killings was armed robbery and they were all committed by the same set of people. Finally, someone who always takes the credit for the hard work of the local police decided to listen to Inspector Delano Baptist and within no time the culprits were arrested. The three suspects known as the "gypsy gang" were arrested and they were all convicted. Another case that Baptist was sure he was going to solve is the Afoo murder investigation which was committed on December 30th, 2009. According to what we know, Baptist with his skills managed to get four Jamaican nationals that were residing on the island illegally to tell him what they saw. The information those eyewitnesses provided to Baptist led the team to the rusty firearm that the culprits threw away while escaping but those that were in charge (RST) felt that they knew more than Baptist so they discredited the information and the gun that was found. Forensic and ballistic information showed that the rusty gun was indeed the firearm used to kill the well known businessman. Even though the gun was found, the bosses higher up took the decision to deport the four Jamaicans that assisted Baptist. To date, the Afoo Murder Investigation under the command of Chief Prosecutor Hans Mos remains unsolved. The KPSM reopened the case but as usual when they arrested someone they believe to be involved in the crime the information was leaked to a media house that is supported by the Prosecutor's Office.
Our third outstanding person this year is a female police officer, one that is always nicely dressed and can be found at every crime scene despite the hour. Her name is Mrs. Janine Cecile Muller-Rijna. Rijna is an Inspector of Police and she heads the Forensic Department of KPSM. Rijna joined the Police Force of the Netherlands Antilles on October 1st, 1985. So far she has given 27 years of service to the Police Force. Catching the suspects is one aspect of solving a case but the job that Rijna does plays a key role in solving some murder cases and cases of rape. Forensic evidence plays a crucial role in solving crimes especially with the technology that is now available to police and other investigators. This past year (2012) forensic trace played a key role in solving 12 of the 14 murders that were committed.
Our fourth outstanding person of the year is someone that is hardly known to the St. Maarten community because he joined the St. Maarten Police Force on January 15th, 2012. Mr. Gerard van Dam, an Inspector of Police came from the Netherlands with 35 years of service in law enforcement. Van Dam has a vast amount of knowledge and is currently heading the Tactical Crime Prevention in the Detective Department. According to the information we have gathered on Inspector Van Dam, he has shown that he is strongly committed to his job while he has a pleasant personality as a police officer. Van Dam was one of the officers who played a major role as one of the coordinators in solving the King murders that were committed in September 2012. This is because Van Dan integrated into the St. Maarten community within a short period of time which he managed to use during this investigation.
The four cops chosen by SMN News as outstanding persons of the year led various teams when they worked on several murder cases. Therefore, it is only fair that we congratulate the men and women who worked with them in making St. Maarten a better and safer place for its residents and visitors alike. Crime prevention and elimination of crime on St. Maarten is far from being perfect but one must admit that an island this small with over 200 nationalities must have its pros and its cons.
The teams selected by SMN News solved 5 of the 10 murders that were committed in the year 2010, 13 of the 18 murders committed in 2011, and 12 of the 14 murders committed in 2012. This is the period when Chief Commissioner of Police Peter de Witte took over the helm of the Police Force of St. Maarten (KPSM).
One of the highlights that the KPSM brought St. Maarten this year and saved the island much trouble is when the local police force KPSM solved the murders of Michael and Thelma King in September 2012. During this investigation the local police force worked by themselves and they managed to capture the three suspects who already confessed to killing the two American citizens, while the motive as far as we know was robbery. Solving the King murders saved St. Maarten and its tourism industry greatly since most news outlets in North America pointed their eyes and ears in our direction especially since the same Prosecutor that headed the Prosecutor's office in Aruba when Nathalee Halloway was killed is now heading our Prosecutor's office and he is also sitting in the driver's seat.
SMN News chose to award the three men and one woman in blue simply because someone else always takes the credit for the work they do. It is obvious these past years that the police has lost their voice and the only person that gives information and takes the credit for the work of the Police is the Chief Public Prosecutor Hans Mos. Unfortunate as it may be we were not distracted by the tactics and we recognized that our men in blue work very hard with the limited tools and manpower. Even more unfortunate is that several of them are due for promotion but for some reason or the other, it is not being given to them.
Chief Commissioner of Police Peter de Witte expressed shock but was very happy that someone somewhere saw the hard work of the men and women working at KPSM. De Witte said he was indeed happy that the four persons selected by SMN News got the credit they deserve because they all work tirelessly to solve each and every crime that is committed on St. Maarten. "For me this is a good reward for the four officers that have been selected for such a prestigious title. Each of them work very hard and they deserve it very much."
Our fifth person of the year 2012 is someone that is also well known to the St. Maarten community, he was appointed Minister of Finance in May 2012 by the National Alliance/ Democratic Party/IND Government. His name Roland Studly Tuitt. Tuitt was born on November 20th, 1955, and he is a certified accountant. Tuitt worked with the CFT prior to St. Maarten becoming a country, after that he was appointed Chairman of the Audit Chamber and as of May 2012 he was appointed Minister of Finance. One would ask why nominate Tuitt as one of the outstanding persons of the year. First and foremost, Mr. Tuitt is one of the Ministers from the Council of Ministers who makes it his duty to inform the people of St. Maarten every Wednesday during the Council of Ministers' press briefing. Mr. Tuitt only stays away when he is not on the island. Many times SMN News would brace Minister Tuitt with harsh questions and even when it's difficult he would ensure that an answer is provided for the people he is working for, the tax payers. Besides that, Minister Tuitt within a very short period of time had to finalize the 2012 budget which he almost did over while he is still fiddling with figures to balance and provide adequate answers to the CFT about the 2013 budget.
Minister Tuitt is the one that exposed the TAXAND scandal on St. Maarten which will soon end up in the hands of the prosecutor and Attorney General. He also ensured that the people's money was not going to be spent on NFL football that a certain MP wanted introduced in schools on the island and another project and contract Tuitt threw through the window was the sand in a bottle contract that was to be awarded to the relative of the former Deputy Prime Minister.
To the five people we have chosen to reward for their outstanding work during the 2012, congratulations for capturing our attention with the work you do. We at SMN News wish you much strength and success for the year 2013.