Philipsburg: --- Officers from at least ten islands participated in the first ever training offered to Caribbean nationals by Homeland Security of the United States. The training is conducted by the umbrella organization Immigration, Customs Enforcements (ICE). There were representatives from Trinidad and Tobago, Puerto Rico, British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, Canada, and the islands of the Netherlands Antilles. Participants are from departments such as immigration, customs, and the coast guards. The training that kicked off on Tuesday would be held at two locations on the island, at the Philipsburg Community Center and the Office of the Coast Guard in Simpson Bay.
The ICE team comprises of Brain Vaillancourt, from the Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center, Lorenzo Toledo attached to the Caribbean Office of Homeland Security, Richard Jolles chief of staff of the department of Homeland security, Daniel Evans special agent of Homeland Security ICE office and Richard York from the Criminal Intelligence Unit of St. Maarten.
The focus of the seminar is human trafficking and the use of falsified (fraudulent) documents and networking. Officers were urged to make contacts with all the participants since that would be an asset in tracking down human smugglers, while the key to working is sharing information so that law enforcement can clamp down on human smugglers around the Caribbean and the United States.
Attending the opening ceremony on Tuesday morning were Minister of Justice David Dick, Chief Prosecutor of the Windward Islands Taco Stein, Assistant Chief Commissioner of Police Ademar Doran, Police Coach Ronald Dongor, Leader of Government William Marlin, while the seminar was officially opened by Assistant Chief of Police Millicent De Weever.
De Weever in her opening statements said human trafficking or the smuggling of humans should be a concern for everyone since it is fundamental crime against humanity that is also against human dignity. De Weever said the best defense for law enforcement is always a good offence. She said she is confident that the seminar will serve to benefit all the participating islands (countries). De Weever said while the seminar is geared at sharing information and experiences regarding smuggling of human beings this is a crime that has no boundaries. She said the estimated figures for this type of crime exceeded four million per year with the majority of victims being females while most of them being children.
De Weever said the amount of lives lost in this illicit activity could not be measured and as such, she believes that if all forces are bonded together then a strong message can be sent to the perpetrators that such an injustice against human dignity would not be tolerated.
Leader of government and commissioner of education William Marlin in his remarks said the training given over the coming days would serve as an asset to St. Maarten since they are now preparing to take on country status. Marlin said while the island is well known to those who come to shop here the island is also exposed to human traffickers. He said there are people who would willfully travel to St. Maarten with fraudulent documents to make it beyond the shores of the island and especially to the US.
Also addressing the officers and trainers was Chief Prosecutor Taco Stein. Stein who urged the participants to capitalize on the training since human smuggling and forged documents has become a phenomenon in the islands reason why so many islands has shown interest in the trainings. Stein said without the use of forged documents human smuggling/trafficking becomes more difficult but the economic differences has caused the trade to stay alive.
He said there are number of issues that arise from human smuggling since in many instances the victims are sexually abused because of poverty. This he said is a modern form of slavery something that modern society cannot tolerate and one that has to be addressed. The chief prosecutor said its time the communities get involved and fight against this types of activities. Businesses he said must become aware that the hiring of illegal nationals is part of the problem in relation to human trafficking. He felt that the trainings is of vital importance to law enforcement.
Minister of Justice David Dick in his address stressed that the strengthening of immigration is of ultimate importance. He said networkings in these programs are key to solving cases of human smuggling. He said he is trying his best to improve the immigration status and placing it higher on the political agenda. Dick said human trafficking is one of the most horrendous crimes that one can commit and the islands are susceptible to the crime since they are surrounded by water. He warned that victims of human trafficking are not always easy to detect since persons who have been victimized because of economic needs do not speak much. He said focus should not only look at the islands but they should also look at the larger countries where this type of activity is also prevalent.
Assistant Chief Commissioner of Police Ademar Doran said that the constant evolving techniques and changing strategies that criminals use have proven to be issues that law enforcement agencies cannot deal with traditional policing strategies. He said the poor communication and cooperation between nations and agencies and the diverse policing systems as well as scattered information prove to be making law enforcement handicap when dealing with such crimes. Doran said he strongly believes that the time has come for nations to change their strategies and techniques. He said law enforcement should no longer speak about information sharing instead they should now be speaking about its availability and accessibility at a central point. Also addressing the dignitaries and participants prior to the seminar was the Richard Jolles, Chief of Staff of US Immigration and Customs. Jolles gave a break down on the activities performed by ICE and their successes in tackling an activity that is now plaguing nations. ICE team shared information on some of the victims that were rescued in the United States and the slave-like conditions these people were living in.