Philipsburg: --- Assistant Chief Commissioner of Police Dafnis Francesca along with the contractors signed a contract agreement at the Philipsburg Police Station on Tuesday to begin the expansion of the Simpson Bay Police Outpost.The three-story expansion is geared at building a special space for holding illegal immigrants. Ivan Fraites of the PVNA told members of the media that the construction work will be completed by November 2010.
Fraites said the work is scheduled to last a maximum of ten months. The facility has a price tag of four million guilders that is provided by the Dutch Government through USONA, the new building would accommodate 64 persons. Office spaces for lawyers, doctors and a prison cell for those that are badly behaved are all part of the plans. Fraites said the building would be divided into three sections, namely sleeping area, recreation and an area for fresh air.
Fraites said illegal immigrants would no longer be held in prison cells after the new building is completed. He said the entire area would be open space furnished with beds. He stressed that the building would be secured with iron bars and a special louvers window. Immigrants whose status is not in order would no longer be taken to Philipsburg when arrested. The processing of these persons will take place at the future location when it is completed.
Fraites confirmed that the Federal government does have plans to renovate the Pointe Blanche including the kitchen and adding more office spaces.
The police are also planning to build at least two other police outposts, one in the St. Peters area and the other in Dutch Quarter. Fraites said the only reason those projects have not kicked off is because they need to find the land space to build the outposts. He said while the Dutch is willing to provide the funds for the building of these infrastructures the island government has to provide the land space. Asked when this project would take off Assistant Chief Commissioner of Police Dafnis Francesca said they are now looking for monies to buy the land. He confirmed that the police are also looking into the possibility of moving some officers into the Rupert Maynard Community Center in St. Peters and in the Belvedere Community Center temporarily. Francesca said if the police cannot find land space then they would begin using the two facilities as police outposts.