Philipsburg:--- The Council of Ministers of St. Maarten was given a presentation by the Chief of Police of St. Maarten Peter de Witte on the 2012 crime report. The report shows that capital offences dropped by 25% compared to 2010 and 2011. The Police believes that the 2012 crime figures create hope for St. Maarten since the trend for the past three years is a downward one. One of the most striking results for the police in the 2012 crime report is the decrease of burglaries by 50%. House burglaries are considered as one of the most serious infringements on one's privacy and life. The figures presented to the Council of Ministers are linked below with the graphs prepared by KPSM.
The burglary team that was established in 2011 managed to infiltrate and arrest the perpetrators that were invading the homes and businesses on the island. The police believe that information, the tactics used, and forensic evidence that were combined helped them to reduce crimes in 2012. Due to the strategic way in which the police handled the investigations of burglaries they managed to arrest more suspects that were eventually convicted and deport those that were residing on St. Maarten illegally.
According to the report presented to the Council of Ministers, during a murder investigation at the end of 2010 a group of criminals were arrested and they were the ones linked to a number of car thefts and burglaries.
In the year 2011, police had to deal with a number of assignations. The investigation into the sudden killings took a major part of police resources, thus interfering with the staff that was tasked with investigating burglaries and car thefts. Because of this certain cases were delayed as the investigation into the killings took priority. However, early 2012 the police managed to refocus and place some energy in finding those responsible for several robberies. During this time one suspect that was responsible for 15 armed robberies in St. Peters area was arrested.
Chief Commissioner of Police Peter de Witte told the Council of Ministers that by further strengthening the detective department there will be greater hope for St. Maarten when it comes to the reduction of crimes. He said theft directly related to tourism will take priority but as long as the police force has sufficient manpower then focus on the home front will remain of great importance.
De Witte feels that increasing the men and women in blue on the streets of St. Maarten worked as crime prevention even though he could not show the council figures for this. The installation of community policing will soon bear fruits in the various districts.
In 2012, a large number of murders occurred on St. Maarten. The investigation which is now known as the Vesuvius investigation led to the arrest of several persons. The police believe that the efforts they placed in this investigation bore fruits because those suspects were convicted. Since the arrest of the Vesuvius suspects, no other murder was committed in 2012. The police also believes that the fluctuating composition of the population and the financial crisis that many persons are facing have a major impact on crime.
The police force (KPSM) has displayed its abilities in solving capital crimes, one example is the solving of the Cupecoy (Ocean) murder investigation in less than one month where the lives of two American citizens were snatched away. De Witte told the Council that solving this case alone has given the people of St. Maarten confidence and therefore it is of uttermost importance that the police force be strengthened further.
Ill- treatment increased in 2012 and it occured mainly with persons that had relationships. The police believe that focus and investment has to be placed on prevention and the police does not hold that type of responsibility, even though they play a strong role as partner. Sexual offences also increased during the year 2012 and it is one of the most difficult type of crimes to prevent and investigate because it takes place within families and filing of police reports are not done in a timely manner because in most cases the victims of these crimes are fearful and would hesitate to act. While the police have dealt with a number of these cases, they believe that more has to be done on creating awareness because they are of the opinion that there is a large number of people suffering in the dark. Even though some 62 reports were received of sexual offences, only in 31 cases a complaint was actually filed because in most cases the victims do not want to press charges because they lacked courage. Severe cases of sexual abuse occurs mostly in "step" families. The police is of the opinion that cases such as these should not be seen as social issue but the police can only act repressive in most cases.
Click here to view the Official 2012 Crime Report that was delivered to the Council of Ministers.
