The two former heads of the police organizations on the French and Dutch side worked on this cooperation agreement shortly after a grave accident had taken place in Sandy Ground involving two Dutch side police cars that were involved in a high speed chase. That accident which occurred in October 2007 and left two police officers injured and caused much strain on the working relations between the French and Dutch sides, forcing Panneflek and Barras to work on a cooperation agreement which would allow officers on both sides to engage in cross border chases when it pertains to fighting crime.
With an official agreement officers from both sides will be able to conduct patrols on either sides of the island and will also foster better exchange of information and cooperation. Officers of the law are now able to do controls jointly on both sides.
In an invited comment former Chief of Police Richard Panneflek said when he and Barras worked on the treaty they did it based on the framework of the Schengen Accord since France is part of the European Union. "While the Schengen Accord gives police officers a 30 meter boundary in hot pursuits we have joint controls on both sides." Gendarmes can now act as police on the Dutch side and the Dutch side police have the same rights on the French side as the Gendarmes." The former top cop said.
He said the signed treaty should be considered historical since there was none of its kind in the past. "Considering the size of the island to have such a treaty would mean a lot in crime fighting. Officers who are in hot pursuits no longer have to stop at the border since crime does not stop at the border." Panneflek said.
SMN News learnt that the agreement was sent to Curacao and was left there for a long period of time before it was officially sent off to Holland. However, the French Gendarmes also had sent the French version of the treaty to Ministry of Overseas Affairs in Paris who eventually sent it to The Hague for it to be processed.