Philipsburg:--- Members of the Police Department namely detective, forensic, the armed robbery team and the special team investigating the murder cases on St. Maarten are on go-slow. Several persons informed SMN News that they have been trying to get assistance from the police force on Wednesday but no one is helping them. Already the prosecutor's office it is understood ordered the forensic department not to take evidence from homes or businesses that were robbed because the department is grossly understaffed. SMN News further learnt that the forensic department only has one person working in it and that person was told they should only process murder scenes.
SMN News further learnt that the officers in blue have decided to protest the understaffing of the police force and the lack of staff and equipments among other grievances specifically in the detective department. Sources close to the police said if the management team of the police force does not deal with the pending issues the action will intensify even though the union is not saying out loud that they are protesting.
One of the questions the detective department wants answered is who is managing the police KPSSS since the Prosecutor's office they said is allegedly making the decisions for the Police Force.
SMN News also learnt that the selected candidate that would take up the position as Chief of Police Peter de Witte who is currently serving in Aruba would only be available to St. Maarten by July 2010, while the Minister of Justice had said he would have taken his position by April 1 to May 15th. SMN News further learnt that the police bond and officers of the Korps is asking questions about the alleged Naf. 30,000 per month salary that De Witte would receive when appointed to St. Maarten.
In an invited comment President of the Police Bond Ronny Abrams said that the police is not in action however, he confirmed the police held a bond meeting all day on Wednesday to address issues relating to the detective department which is grossly understaffed. Asked if the union plans to address the issues surrounding Detective Carlton Phillips, Abrams said the union has decided to take the matter up and intends to deal with it.
SMN News learnt that Minister of Justice Magali Jacoba did not deal with Phillips dossier even though she heard him on several occasions. Sources close to the police organization said the Minister has sent a letter to Chief of Police Franklyn Richards asking him to issue a warning letter to Phillips for going to the media to expose the ills of the police management team.
SMN News further learnt that Richards received that letter over a month ago and so far he did not deal with it since he is soon to leave office. Several phone calls were placed to Richards's cellular phone for a comment but he did not answer his phone.
When contacted for a comment Minister of Justice Magali Jacoba said she was not aware of the situation on St. Maarten she also advised that the Korpschef of St. Maarten to deal with the issues of the force he is managing. "please call the korpschef so he can tell you what is going on". Jacoba said.
Assistant Chief Commissioner of Police Ademar Doran in written response to SMN News said the detective personnel complained about the understaffing at the Department which has been causing them to work extended hours over a long period of time. At this moment the department is dealing with seven major investigations of which six are capital cases. Doran said. He besides the major cases the detectives are called to deal with armed robberies and other crimes such as burglaries. The Assistant Chief Commissioner said the department has pulled its resources together to deal with the several murder investigations such as the Dayalani, Backstreet, Afoo Dutch Quarter, St. Peters, David Eustace, with the addition of the last case in Sucker Garden. We having teams consisting of Marechaussee, RST and KPSSS operating from different locations but still the work load is too much.
Asked what is the management team doing to address the understaffing Doran said the understaffing is a major problem throughout the organization. He said only recently the police got some new recruits from the police training school. The department he said already identified two prospective or potentials officers from the General Division and one from Saba to be transferred to the Detective Department. Doran further explained that formal talks with the respective chiefs still need to take place, and when officers are selected they still have to go through training to become detectives. Then they will have to undergo training in the field of detective while three officers have been transferred to the detective department and are part of the investigating team.
Asked how long would this situation continue he said this cannot be resolved overnight, the Police Force has been plagued with understaffing for a long period. He said it is not easy to select officers for the detective department and it will take sometime before they can reach the desired amount to resolve and deal with the crime situation on St. Maarten. At this moment there are 24 detectives in the department while they need as much as 81.
However, Doran refused to comment on the issue of Carlton Phillips and when would the Prosecutor's Office resume working with this detective. "I will not comment on the issues surrounding Detective Carlton Phillips" Doran said.
