Philipsburg;--- Chief of Police Peter De Witte in an interview with SMN News said on Tuesday July 13 th 2010, during breakfast, as he opened the newspaper, and his eyes immediately fell on a page size advertisement, as the story goes by the police corps chief of St. Maarten.In this advertisement interested persons were asked to react to vacancies at the police corps of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba. Police corps chief, Peter de Witte, of course whishes the BES islands, a first class and professional police corps.
St. Maarten also is facing the challenge to make 10-10-2010 a success and with that date the police corps of St. Maarten is an independent police organization just as the police on the BES islands, with responsibility for safety and maintaining the law and regulations on the island.
All of this is not a small challenge, and that is why we have the plans ready to develop and strengthen the police corps these coming years. The plans have been presented to the island government and are awaiting the formal approval.
1. The plans contain a personnel as well as a financial growth;
2. The St. Maarten government has reacted positively toward these plans.
The Police Commissioner would like to lift a little more of the veil and give some more information and explanations. The Corps will increase in size and expand even more and because of that, many new employees are needed. The Police will have to reflect on her task and role in the community and should want together with the inhabitants effectively take care of the safety of St. Maarten and finally the Corps has the ambition with the use of modern means and methods to achieve a "securer" St. Maarten.
The Corps cannot attain this on its own. Everyone who can and wants to contribute is most welcome to do so. Being active in the sense to supplying information to solving crimes and also to preventing them from happening.
The Corps is investing much into steps to be taken to the new future. That is the reason why the Corps chief is requesting everybody to think good in which way the inhabitants of St. Maarten can be helpful by realizing a safer island.
And of course he hopes that with the growth of the Corps the inhabitants, the young as well as those some of the older, will think about their responsibility for the community and show their interest for a function in the new Corps within the new country. It is a guarantee that possibilities will be created for attractive positions.
The coming years we will grow with surely 150 new employees in various capacities and roles. We will also appeal to new workers who not necessarily have to go through the complete police training. These persons will be put in a new service department who will take in reports and give support to the emergency service in the form of "call-takers". Also we would like to welcome many new workers who will be put in for "detention care" for arrested persons and these workers can eventually stream through to the function of police-officer.
In short, much is going to happen and there are just as many possibilities. All these possibilities can be filled by the children of the soil.
The Corps Chief fully supports the words of the acting lt. governor Groeneveldt, who commented earlier this week in the newspapers, that "nobody should be excluded", for we need all hands on deck.
We will have to work on many areas when it comes to security. At schools with attention for the youth and the possibilities for them. On the streets where it regards their behavior and their social interaction in the neighborhoods and districts, where they know well what is going on and the things that can be achieved.
Of course we have to look at ourselves as Police. We want to be more service minded and public oriented. To make clear what the St. Maarten public can expect from us and count on when it comes to our responsibilities.
The plans that are made with support from experienced advisors, look good and should enable us to become THE POLICE, that the island deserves.
At the moment that the plans are approved by the relevant authorities, we can start with the execution of the activities. The public at large will notice it and that is what I promise. Of course by then I will tell exactly what the police are going to do. Until that time I am asking everybody who thinks they can contribute towards a safer St. Maarten, to seriously consider this and to support all the plans that are later made known.
The police commissioner is very optimistic with the new possibilities created for country Sint Maarten.
