Philipsburg:--- On August 28th, the CPOs held a meeting with the pastors of the Seventh Day Adventist Churches on forming a good working relationship and partnership between parties. The pastors were very honored and pleased to be part of this concept which is new to Sint Maarten. They also commended the CPOs for this new approach. The pastors agreed that through this type of policing the communication between the community and police will become much closer on all levels.
On Friday August 31st, a meeting was held at the police Station between the Sint Maarten Bus Drivers Association headed by the President Mr. Jose Slack and the CPOs. Part of the discussion was regarding buses after hours in the Maho Reef, Mullet Bay, and the Low Lands area. The President of the association promised that he would look into this matter with his colleagues to alleviate that situation. Mr. Slack also assured the CPOs that their association is on board with them and that they are looking forward on building a great working and communication relationship with the police department and in doing so building a better and safer community.
Also on Friday August 31st, a meeting between school directors and managers of Public School and the CPOs was held at the Philipsburg Police Station. The head of the public schools Miss Glenda Davis-Holiday welcomed the idea of working "hand in hand" with the CPOs/Police. During this meeting many issues were discussed such as how to tackle the problems the teachers face on a daily basis. The newly formed partnership is definitely a big step in the right direction in jointly handling these situations.
On Saturday September 1st, CPO Major E. Josepha and Mr. Michael Kanaby Chief Security of the Medical School organized a clean-up campaign on the Jordan road in the Low Lands area. The clean-up was organized to remove the overgrown bushes and trees which blocked the street lights. In this area, many medical students and tourists have become victims of robbery because of the culprits being able to hide in the bushes near a concrete building on that street. Removing these bushes and cutting the trees minimizes the threats or possibilities of being robbed.
A special thank you goes out to Mr. Sindo Davis of JAZZ General Contracting for cutting the bushes and trimming the trees and Mr. James Richardson of All Waste in Place N.V. for providing the garbage bins. Also taking part in the clean-up were police recruits Angelo Blijden, Jeward Martis, and Nikita van Heyningen
CPO Sergeant S. Crispulo, Officer R. Henson, and Commissioner Carl John spearheaded the CPO-project. During the clean-up a vehicle that was reported stolen the day before was found in the same area. The car was confiscated for further investigation.
