Willemstad – Even on his last day as Minister of Justice, David Dick still managed to sign an important financial agreement with the implementing body of the foundation for the development of the Netherlands Antilles (USONA). By this agreement, three million guilders has been made available for the finishing stages of the police cells on St.Maarten and renovation and furnishing of the police offices.
The cellblock at the police station in Philipsburg will be finished by the end of this year. Developer Pream Architects estimates the time of construction to be 85 working days. The contractors will take care of the renovation for both the head office of the police force in Philipsburg as well as the office in Simpson Bay.
The expansion of the head office of the police force consists of a cellblock with a capacity for 35 detainees. The entire building will be equipped with security cameras. From within the surveillance room, the guards will have direct supervision on the cells.
During their arrest, the suspects will be checked by a doctor, who will have a separate doctor’s room in the building at his disposal. The new building meets the requirements of the Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT), which means that it has sufficient lighting, cooling and space in the cells. There will be adequate sanitation to guarantee hygiene. The entire terrain will be locked off and optimally secured.
Members of Parliament Erno Labega of the Democratic Party (DP) and Rodolphe Samuel of the national Alliance (NA) were witness to the signing of the financing agreement on Curacao. This document was signed by the Minister of Justice and Frans Versteeg, the managing director of USONA; the organization, which allocates the funds from the Netherlands for, projects supporting the development of the Netherlands Antilles. In the area of Justice, projects are financed in the framework of the Security Plan Netherlands Antilles (PVNA). The project leader of Housing of PVNA, Ivan Fraites, has prepared the tender for the projects on St.Maarten. The financing was established through talks with Secretary of State of Kingdom Relations Ank Bijleveld. “I am very pleased that I was still able to do this,” says Minister David Dick. “St.Maarten deserves these new facilities. The Corps of the Leeward Islands is currently going through a complex reorganization development process, which makes it vital to be able to have access to an adequate working environment. This contributes to the many positive changes happening within the Corps. For me, the signing of this agreement was a matter of principle. I will not leave St.Maarten in the lurch.”