Mr. Franklyn Richards, Chairman of the Council for Law Enforcement, on Monday, January 18th 2014 presented its report, ‘The process of Adult Probation on St. Maarten’ to St. Maarten’s Minister of Justice, Mr. Dennis Richardson.
The report is a compilation of inspections conducted by the Council on law enforcement into the process of rehabilitating adults in Sint Maarten who have committed a criminal act. Pursuant to international legislation and regulation Sint Maarten has a responsibility to resocialize detainees and to assist them in playing a constructive role in society after committing an offense. The offering of rehabilitation is a method in which to achieve that objective and which must therefore be carried out in a responsible way.
In Sint Maarten, it is mainly the probation department of the Foundation for Judicial Institutions Windward Islands (known by the abbreviation FJIW), that executes the task of rehabilitation and probation.
The report shows that in 2012 only 2% of the suspects in police custody have had contact with the FJIW and only 17% of the cases that were dealt with by the Public Prosecutor’s Office or that were dealt with in court, reports by the FJIW have been issued.
In 2011 and 2012 only a third of sentences of community work are completed successfully. Furthermore, the amount of delinquents that make an appeal to the probation department for assistance during or after detention are rather few, in 2012 only one person voluntary rehabilitation contact has taken place. Supervision by the FJIW after detention practically always arises from a special condition imposed by the Court or the Public Prosecution Office.
The FJIW indicates that they would like to give more time to the guidance of clients after detention, but mainly because of the low offer of programs and provisions they are limited in their possibilities.
The data gathered have to be placed within the context of the seriousness of and the amount of crimes that are committed on Sint Maarten. Also of importance is the fact that the probation and rehabilitation department of the FJIW faces serious challenges in carrying out tasks due to limited resources.
The Council for Law Enforcement is nonetheless encouraged by the initiatives of the Ministry of Justice to better implement the rehabilitation of adults by incorporating the FJIW in a new to be established service of the ministry of Justice. Additionally as of 2012 an increase is projected in subsidy for the FJIW.
The council is of the opinion that in the interest of public safety, it is imperative that this attention by the Ministry of Justice remains a priority in keeping with that of the reduction of repeat offenses and the reintegration of former detainees into the Sint Maarten community.
In accepting the report, minister Richardson expressed gratitude and indicated that the findings mentioned in the report serve to guide initiatives aimed at improving the overall situation regarding adult probation in St. Maarten.
The presentation of the report comes just days following approval of the needed operational budget for the council on law enforcement.