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VKS to handle Soualiga Patrol
by The Daily News
Posted: Mar 13, 2006 21:19 UTC
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Special Patrol starts April
PHILIPSBURG--“The VKS (Voluntary Corps of St. Maarten) will handle the Soualiga (special) Patrol project in Philipsburg … and will patrol the streets of Philipsburg and the boardwalk,” local Chief of Police Lt. Governor Franklyn Richards announced Sunday.
His announcement was made on the Radio programme “For the Record” hosted by Eddie Williams on Radio Soualiga 99.9 Choice FM.
After explaining the difficulties experienced by the police force of St. Maarten under the command of Police Chief Commissioner Derrick Holiday in setting up the special Soualiga Patrol, Richards explained that it had been decided that the only way to get the patrol up and running as quickly as possible was to place it under the VKS.
He said that after some upheaval about an increase in criminal activities in the society and in the wake of questions posed by Island Councilwoman Maria Buncamper-Molanus, it had been decided in discussions with Commissioner Theo Heyliger to get the patrol up and running as quickly as possible.
As a result, “as of April 1, the VKS will be patrolling Philipsburg – the boardwalk included – with at least seven people during the day and during the evening. That is the solution to this project that was in limbo,” he said.
He added: “The VKS will handle the Soualiga (special) Patrol project in Philipsburg, which is a pilot project, and will patrol the streets of Philipsburg and the Boardwalk.”
He said the special patrol force was being put under the VKS because the legal requirements were less strenuous than those of the police.
“You just can’t really put a patrol into operation without having the legal grounds and they don’t have any legal grounds right now to say you will create a force like the VKS at the moment. So that’s why it’s best to put it in the hands of the VKS and you will get the same type of patrolling, with the VKS being very well respected in our society, and they can handle the job.”
He said that as a result of this decision, law enforcement personnel would have greater visibility with more VKS patrolling in Philipsburg during the day and during the evening.
However, there was no indication during the radio programme as to whether the special patrol unit would be supervised by the police force or whether the officers on patrol would be allowed to carry weapons.
During the one-hour programme on Radio Soualiga, the Lt. Governor dealt with a number of issues raised in the Camelia-Römer report on the judiciary and stressed that St. Maarten needed to return to the basic approach to law enforcement that existed years ago when law enforcement was characterised by the patrol officer who knew almost every resident and business on the island.
He said the police had to become more involved with the people living in St. Maarten and should be more visible. This would mean setting priorities based on a joint approach or partnership between the community and the police, as suggested by the Camelia-Römer report.
He said it was as a result of recognition of this need for greater visibility of law enforcement officers that, in discussions with the Executive Council, it had been decided to establish the Soualiga Patrol.
The establishing of the Patrol was put in the hands of the police and he had several discussions with Holiday. However, because of some breakdown in communication, the perception was created that nothing was being done.
He said Holiday had looked at the situation and seen the possibility of creating a force for St. Maarten to take care of certain matters. However, of the 60 people who applied, 30 were dropped after the interviews.
The interviews were followed by medical, psychological and sport tests, after which only 12 were found suitable – six as possible candidates for the police force and another six to serve in the Soualiga Patrol.
However, that would not be adequate to set up a patrol unit, because there would be need for a 24/7 operation during which members of the patrol would have to carry weapons.
He said the police were doing their best and were not turning a blind eye to the problems in St. Maarten, but the problems were complex and to solve them the education sector, the community and the social sector would have to work closely together.
The problems will have to be addressed from both the repressive and the preventive approaches, he added.
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