PHILIPSBURG:--- In its fifth sub-inspection, the Law Enforcement Council (the Council) notes that the follow-up and implementation of recommendations that were not (fully) followed, with regard to border control and the admission and expulsion (immigration control) of foreign nationals on Sint Maarten, have been delayed for almost 10 years. The reports primarily concerned the Immigration and Border Protection Service (IBPS).
In addition to direct risks concerning safety within our society, the consequences of poorly functioning border control and immigration control include rising costs for public works, health care, social security, safety and security in general, and, not least, overpopulation. A well-functioning border control and immigration control (control, admission, and expulsion), as well as good cross-border cooperation with the French authorities, is therefore important.
Follow-up of recommendations
Since 2020, the Council has been carrying out sub-inspections as part of a general review to inspect the status of the follow-up of recommendations in the period from 2012 to 2018. The first four sub-inspection reports were published in 2021 (2), 2022 (1) and 2023 (1) respectively.
In its current fifth sub-inspection, the Council conducted a second review of the previous reports on border control on the movement of persons on Sint Maarten (2014 and 2017) and the admission and expulsion of foreign nationals on Sint Maarten (2014 and 2019). The previous reviews showed that not all recommendations had been followed. This sub-inspection shows that of the total 21 recommendations on the subjects mentioned, 5 recommendations were followed, 6 recommendations were partially followed, and 10 recommendations were not followed.
State of Affairs compliance rate
Compliance rates, in general, show a slight improvement. The report on border control on the movement of persons shows a slight progress in the degree of follow-up of the recommendations, given that the compliance rate has increased from 32.1% to 40.6%. The report on the admission and expulsion of foreign nationals shows a slight improvement in the degree of follow-up to the recommendations, as the compliance rate has increased from 25% to 33.3%.
State of affairs in a broader perspective
Border control and immigration control are of great importance for law enforcement on Sint Maarten. The IBPS is responsible for the execution of border control and immigration control on Sint Maarten. The Council considers the lack of continuity within the IBPS in recent years a major bottleneck.
Due to the many changes in management, changes concerning governance of the organization and personnel changes, the organization lacked structure and direction, leaving it largely rudderless. As a result, a lot of time and energy was lost in a period when development and improvements should have taken place. Other well-known bottlenecks, also recurring in this sub-inspection, concern the lack of preconditions of a financial and personnel nature and policy support at the IBPS.
Overall, as a result of the above, it can be concluded that too many of the recommendations, including a number of important preconditions (in the categories of personnel policy, organizational plan/job classification, policy and legal framework) have still not been implemented or have only been partially implemented.
These recommendations concern aspects of a structural nature. By this, the Council means, among other things, aspects that form the basis of a well-built and functioning organization. In previous Council reports, these aspects are also mentioned as factors that form bottlenecks for further development to a greater or lesser extent throughout the justice chain. In other words, without a change, structural improvement is not possible.
The Council notes that follow-up and implementation of the recommendations that have not been (fully) implemented has been delayed for almost 10 years. In view of the public interest they represent, the Council calls on the Minister of Justice to follow these recommendations with haste.
The full inspection report and all other publications of the Council are available digitally on the website: www.raadrechtshandhaving.com.
