Central Committee raises its concerns
with law enforcement evaluation team
PHILIPSBURG--The role of the Lt. Governor as Local Chief of Police and as the person responsible for immigration matters featured among issues of concern raised by members of the Central Committee of the Island Council when they met Monday with members of the Evaluation Committee on Law Enforcement.
The Evaluation Committee headed by former Prime Minister and Minister of Justice of the Netherlands Antilles, Suzanne Camelia-Römer is currently visiting the island.
Chairwoman of the Central Committee Maria Buncamper-Molanus said concerns had been expressed during yesterday's meeting with the Evaluation Committee regarding the many tasks of the (office of the) Lt. Governor and whether enough time and energy could also be allotted to the task of local chief of police.
She said the "Evaluation Committee" had been asked to look into the issue of responsibility for immigration and to determine whether the authority for this responsibility was presently properly allocated or whether it would be advisable to reallocate this responsibility to the Island Government.
The Island Council Members further requested the Evaluation Committee to look into why there was need for four or more police commissioners in St. Maarten, when there were only three in Curacao (the largest and most populated island in the Netherlands Antilles constellation).
The Evaluation Committee was also asked to look into the matter of the "Crime Fund" and into "the dualistic function of Executive Council members as Legislators."
She said the Central Committee had suggested that the Evaluation Committee consider the effects of possible social problems in our community and how they might affect crime amongst the youth.
"In reaction to this Mr. Paula, a member of the Evaluation Committee, stated that the islands were being looked at individually and that no conclusions would be made prematurely regarding, among other (issues), the correlation between social problems and crime," Buncamper-Molanus explained.
Paula, she added, also stated that each island was unique and that the causes of crime among the youth in Curacao might not necessarily be the same for the other islands of the Netherlands Antilles.
She continued: "I am pleased that this is the approach and consequently commended the Evaluation Committee. Often when policies are made, uniform solutions are applied for all the islands while the islands are certainly very different. …"
The Evaluation Committee, she added, was asked to bear in mind that constitutional reform was taking place and that all efforts must take into account the constitutional developments and the eventual demise of the Netherlands Antilles.
Yesterday's meeting of the Central Committee was its second for this month.
