Philipsburg:--- On January the 19th and 20th, the Police Force of Sint Maarten hosted a very fruitful workshop with representatives of the Interpol Rafael Cabrera-Sarita, representatives of the Immigration department Marcos Mota-Bodden and Juan Mejia Baez and the Acting Counsel of the Dominican Republic, Ishmael Lopez. The topic of the meeting was:Establishing a structural information exchange between the Judiciary services of Sint Maarten and that of the Dominican Republic. The Police Force of Sint Maarten was highly represented. The Police Chief Peter de Witte and both the Head of the Uniform Division Commissioner Carl John and the Head of the Judicial Division Commissioner Denise Jacobs were present.
Also taking part in this workshop were:
The Immigration and Naturalization Department: Mr. Udo Aron and other staff members, the Public prosecutor's office, Mrs. Manon Ridderbeks and the Royal Marechaussee Ewoud de Ruijter which gives support within the police force.
The outcome of the meeting was that all parties agreed to improve the information position of the judiciary chain within the countries where necessary. In both countries, the NCB's of Interpol that is incorporated in the Police Forces and Immigration Departments will support this process highly.
Both parties agreed that judiciary organizations from different countries should have an established structural way of information exchange in place to combat any type of international criminal activity. These countries should regularly come together to monitor the progress and results of their working relation because, in crime fighting usually "to know a face is to solve a case." But this is not the only improvement that has to be made. The Judiciary departments on Sint Maarten, including the police department, are very much in need of an adequate information system, meaning uniformity in software and good hardware. Information sharing with other organizations and with partners abroad starts with a good information and communication system within the organization.