Proposal to free prison space before next arrest raises questions about early release.

PHILIPSBURG:--- With prison space under pressure, Parliament is being asked to consider whether places should be freed at Pointe  Blanche  before  an urgent request arrives to hold a newly arrested suspect.

The proposal emerged during a parliamentary debate on crime and detention capacity. MP Sjamira Roseburg questioned whether the current approach leaves authorities reacting only when the Prosecutor’s Office says it needs space immediately. She suggested assessing eligible prisoners ...

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Irion calls for visible border presence as robbery suspects cross to French side.

PHILIPSBURG:---   MP Ardwell Irion has urged the government to consider placing officers near the border at selected times, saying a visible presence could deter criminals who expect to escape to the French side after committing an offense on the Dutch side.

Irion made clear that he was not proposing routine checks of every vehicle or a closed border. “I’m not saying border control, stopping all vehicles,” he told Parliament. He asked instead whether officers could maintain a physi...

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York presses government on Justice Funding; Tackling agrees revenue must increase.

PHILIPSBURG:---  MP Darryl York’s criticism of justice funding drew an acknowledgment from Justice Minister Nathalie Tackling during Parliament’s debate on crime: the country needs to discuss how to raise more revenue.

York accused the Council of Ministers and Parliament of repeatedly approving budgets that leave police and other justice services short of the money they need, then asking later why those services cannot solve the problems. He called it a “laugh-now, cry-later” approach.

The MP ...

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Jansen-Webster defends Minister over laughing image, demands answers for families of victims.

PHILIPSBURG:--- MP Veronica Jansen-Webster told Parliament that an image depicting Justice Minister Nathalie Tackling as laughing during a meeting attended by the family of a fatal traffic collision victim may have given the public the wrong impression. The MP said she had also seen Tackling laughing while answering questions at the latest meeting on Thursday morning and suggested it could simply be the minister’s manner of speaking.

“I don’t know if it’s a nervous laugh,” Jansen-Webster said. She...

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