Duncan says Justice Minister should do proper research.
PHILIPSBURG:--- Minister of Justice Rafael Boasman confirmed on Wednesday that the Justice Academy is not a registered entity within the Justice Ministry. Minister Boasman was asked by SMN News to clarify his statements on the establishment of the Justice Academy. Asked if the diplomas issued from the institution of the years are valid and are recognized the Minister said that the establishment of the institution has nothing to do with the diplomas since the curriculum that are followed are from recognized institution. He said that the police training courses are sanctioned by the Netherlands and even the professors came from qualified institutions outside of St. Maarten.
As for the establishment of the Justice Academy the Minister said that it was never registered as an entity within the justice ministry and he is busy trying to finalize the process. Boasman said because the Justice Academy is not registered he is unable to appoint persons into positions. He said over the years persons that are working at the Justice Academy has to come from KPSM or the Prison.
Former Minister of Justice Roland Duncan call on the Minister of Justice Rafael Boasman to conduct proper research before making statements. Duncan said that the Justice Academy was legally established in 2013 based on the Comtability Law. Duncan said the registration was done by notary Marlene Mingo. The former Minister of Justice who has been the brainchild of the Justice Academy said that the procedure was done by former Minister of Finance Roland Tuitt and him as Minister of Justice. He said the first Chairman of the Board was Josianne Artsen Fleming while the Director of Operations was contracted to Richard Streker. Duncan said when the Justice Academy was established the foundation was financed by the Crime Fund, and since there was not much money he chose to lend out civil servants from the Justice entity such as KPSM and the Prison to work at the Justice Academy.Duncan said that while Boasman is saying the Justice Academy programs fall under Holland then he needs to say how many students from St. Maarten went to the Netherlands since the establishment of the Justice Academy. He said during his term in office Bonaire had students studying on St. Maarten. The former Minister said that he even had agreements with the Dade Academy of Miami which allowed St. Maarten students to study there. He said that one of the issues he had to deal with is when he demanded that a police inspector have the same amount of knowledge as a lawyer. He said he made those demands to safeguard cases because Inspectors are acting prosecutors and if they are not fully qualified to formulate arrests then cases would have been thrown out by defense attorneys.
