Police ordered to account
for detainees’ property
PHILIPSBURG--Police Chief Commissioner Derrick Holiday has moved to ensure that there is greater accountability for the property of persons detained at the police station.
This latest move has come in the wake of complaints by undocumented persons detained at the Philipsburg police station that items handed over to the police at the time of their detention, including large amounts of cash, have not been returned to them.
The problem has been acknowledged by Holiday, who has addressed the matter in a communiqué in which he explained that new procedures had been put in place to prevent further occurrences.
The communiqué was reportedly issued on January 10 following reports about the disappearance of a large sum of money belonging to one undocumented person who was being repatriated.
In his communiqué sent to the force’s top management, Holiday stated: “Regarding the recent cases of possessions of people who are detained that went missing, the following measures have been taken:
“When someone is detained and incarcerated there will be a complete registration of money, jewellery and all valuable goods. A copy of the list will be given to the detainee, who will sign it and keep a receipt until he is ready to leave; and the goods will be handed over to the section chief who will be responsible for securing the goods in police safe.
“When the day shift starts, the team leader of the section investigation will receive the goods of the foreigner that have been put in the safe and will register them at the section investigation, and the procedure will repeat itself.
“When the foreigner leaves, he will get his goods back, once he shows his receipt and signs a document proving he has received his/her goods. A detailed description of the transactions will be written in the police log outlining the goods taken and the goods returned to their owners.”
Reliable sources said this problem had been occurring for years. Two years ago, confiscated items in plastic sacks were found at the Belvedere home of a police officer who reportedly had shot himself in his foot. The items were found in his possession at the time of his arrest.
Prosecutor Johan de Vrieze told The Daily Herald that, while he was not aware of the new procedures, the Prosecutor’s Office had made recommendations to police a few years ago for controls to ensure that there were no surprises. He said the Prosecutor’s Office could not direct the police to implement these measures, but could give advice.
He could not say how many cases of disappearing goods had been reported.
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