Philipsburg:--- Press prosecutor Rienk Mud is soon to leave St. Maarten and to return to Alkmaar in the Netherlands where he will continue his practice. Mud will step down as the press prosecutor on March 9th but will leave the island on March 22. His departure comes as his term on the St. Maarten has come to an end says Chief Prosecutor Hans Mos.The Chief Prosecutor told representatives of the media on Friday that the workload on St. Maarten is far too much for his office as well as for the police force which he said is greatly understaffed. The police force he said has 80 persons less than the minimum amount of manpower needed. "Right now the prosecutors here do everything, from filing to preparing their cases. We do not even have paralegals that can assist us." Mos said.
Even though the police force is greatly undermanned, recruitment has come to a halt due to the lack of finances. The intention is to have 375 police officers. Mos said while there have been budget cuts across the board, however, the budget for his office was not touched. That, he said is a good thing since there is much work that has to be done from his office. One of the setbacks for the police and the prosecutor's office is to acquire the much needed staff. Mos said getting people to work in the public sector is far more difficult since benefits in the private sector are more attractive.
The chief prosecutor said getting people with a legal background to work for the prosecutor's office is even more tedious and they are forced to bring in the necessary manpower from the Netherlands. He said the intention is to train local people to take up these positions but the University on St. Martin is not yet at the level where law degrees can be obtained forcing persons who want to study law to go away and when they do, they often times don't return.
The Chief Prosecutor said he believes that some sort of attachment has to be placed on persons who receive a scholarship from their country. "My private opinion is that the students after completing their studies must come back for at least two years to serve the country that provided them with an education."
The prosecutor's office he said will get some additional persons by the end of this year. The intention he said is to have at least 14 persons by the end of 2011 and eventually 19 in the future as stipulated in the strategic plan for country St. Maarten. One of the hindrances facing the prosecutor's office is the lack of victim's aid. St. Maarten does not have any victim's aid and it is a very important service which they have to offer to victims.
Mos said victims have the right to demand representation by law if they feel that prosecution should take place. Mos said in the Netherlands victims can go before a judge and file a complaint which would force the prosecutor's office to prosecute.
Mos and Mud said St. Maarten desperately needs to have certain laws in place which would give victims a better chance at getting justice. They said currently there is no clear cut law on the books for them to prosecute people for "modern day slavery" that he said is not in the penal code of the Netherlands Antilles but it is in the draft penal code of Country St. Maarten which still has to be approved by the parliament of St. Maarten.
