Record set in 2006
for crimes reported
PHILIPSBURG--Criminal activity in Dutch St. Maarten increased by 1.4 per cent in 2006, with some 3,008 cases reported, the highest number of reported crimes in a single year for more than ten years.
The crime statistics coming from the office of Police Chief Commissioner of the Windward Islands Derrick Holiday also show that there were 18 deaths with violence in 2006, the highest number ever recorded on the island in one year. Of the 18 violent deaths, three were tried in the Court of First Instance as murders and 15 were given a lesser charge of manslaughter.
There was also a significant increase in car thefts and ill-treatment of persons in 2006.
However, the increase in crime seen in 2006 was significantly less than in 2005, when there was a 23 per cent increase, with 556 more cases of crimes reported than in 2004.
Reported robberies, which have plagued the island for several years, increased by only two this year to 258 reported cases.
According to the statistics, of the 3,008 reported cases of crime in 2006, 494 were solved, some 16.42 per cent. Holiday said this was an improved solution rate over 2005 and showed that there was commitment on the part of the detectives to solve crimes.
He told The Daily Herald in an exclusive interview on Sunday, “The more crimes are solved, the more willing people will be to report incidents of crime when they occur.”
He said, “We also have to continue working on the improvement of the image of the police. We have to get rid of the bad apples and we certainly need more officers.”
There was a significant increase in sex crimes, with 44 reported cases in 2006 compared to 11 in 2005. Of those cases, three involved sex with a child under 12 years old; one involved an unconscious woman; and, three concerned girls ages 12-15. Eleven of those 44 cases have been solved.
According to Holiday, this is unfortunate, as these crimes cannot be predicted because they often occur in homes. He said these numbers were questionable, as the possibility existed that many other sex cases were simply not reported because people were afraid to speak about them. Nevertheless, he commended his officers for their efforts in solving a good percentage of these cases.
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Car break-ins and thefts increased overall to 353 in 2006 from 278 in 2005, which has Holiday concerned. He said plans were being finalised to form a special team of officers to deal specifically with car thefts. He said the six Dutch detectives expected here to assist the force shortly, probably would form an integral part of this new team once they were here.
Holiday travelled to Holland to request assistance in the form of detectives to deal with what he said were the smaller crimes, which included car thefts because they had a major impact on the community. He said the plans are still in place for these officers to arrive on the island, but there were still some matters to be finalised before this process could start.
Also on the increase is ill-treatment of persons, with 160 cases reported in 2006 compared to 112 in 2005, and ill-treatment with a weapon, with 119 cases reported in 2006 compared to only 89 in 2005.
On the plus side, the statistics show that thefts and breaking and entering incidents dropped in number. There were 489 reported acts of theft in 2005, but that number dropped to 441 in 2006. The number of break-ins into homes or businesses dropped from 1,046 in 2005 to 985 in 2006.
Holiday attributed this to increased police presence and said that based on the success of “Operation Quick Response” in December, the decision had been made to continue the programme, starting this week.
Other crimes reported in 2006 include 159 cases of vandalism, 20 cases of embezzlement, 32 cases of fraud, eight cases of forging documents, seven cases of attempted homicide, six cases of pyromania and other cases of threats and public violence. (Alfred Harley)
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