The Democratic Party wishes to inform its members, supporters and the general public that the public meeting scheduled for this Friday in Cole Bay will be rescheduled. The new schedule of public and contact meetings will take into account the holiday season and the busy time leading up to the Christmas holidays. The entire campaign schedule of the Democratic Party is expected to be released soon and the public is encouraged to stay tuned.
The focus of the Party at this time and going into the parliamentary election remains on the areas of justice and crime fighting, and our new constitutional status. Standing firmly behind the upgrading of the police force of St Maarten, the DP nevertheless, as it has always been is extremely concerned with the immediate prospects for reducing crime on St Maarten. In the view of many on our island, crime is rampant and out of control.
Crime has been and still is a central government responsibility and while different assessments show different conclusions with regard to the real crime situation on St. Maarten, the truth of the matter is that the people of St Maarten are the ones who experience the increase in criminal behavior and criminality.
Attempts to register all persons residing on St. Maarten has been clamored for by the DP for a very long time, however this endeavor should not be at the expense of providing adequate security for the people of our island by the central government.
The DP remains adamant: there is only one way to structurally solve this dilemma and that is by placing the responsibility for fighting crime on St Maarten, with those elected to represent the people of St Maarten. “He who feels it, knows it”.