On January the 19th and 20th the Police Force of Sint Maarten hosted a
very fruitful Workshop with representatives of the Interpol Rafael
Cabrera-Sarita, representatives of the Immigration department Marcos
Mota-Bodden and Juan Mejia Baez and the Acting Counsel of the
Dominican Republic, Ishmael Lopez.
The topic of the meeting was:
Establishing a structural information exchange between the Judiciary
services of Sint Maarten and that of the Dominican Republic. The
Police Force of Sint Maarten was highly represented. The Police Chief
Peter de Witte and both the Head of the Uniform Division Commissioner
Carl John and the Head of the Judicial Division Commissioner Denise
Jacobs were present.
Also taking part in this workshop were:
The Immigration and Naturalization Department: Mr. Udo Aarends and
other staff members
The Public prosecutor’s office, Mrs. Manon Ridderbeks
And the Royal Marechaussee Ewoud de Ruijter which gives support within
the police force
The outcome of the meeting was that all parties agreed to improve the
information position of the judiciary chain within the countries where
necessary. In both countries the NCB’s of Interpol that is
incorporated in the Police Forces and Immigration Departments will
support this process highly.
Both parties agreed that judiciary organizations form different
countries should have an established structural way of information
exchange in place, to combat any type of international criminal
activity. These countries should regularly come together to monitor
the progress and results of their working relation because, in crime
fighting usually "to know a face is to solve a case." But this is not
the only improvement that has to be made. The Judiciary departments on
Sint Maarten, including the police department, are very much in need
of an adequate information system, meaning uniformity in software and
good hardware. Information sharing with other organizations and with
partners abroad starts with a good information and communication
system within the organization.