On Monday, November 10th, the course for police, Coast Guard and Koninklijke Marechaussee (KMar) officially begun. This is a historic moment because it is the first time that the course is being given on Bonaire, and because it is a combined course for all three units.
According to Chief of Police Caribbean Netherlands Hildegard Buitink, it is a historic moment that the training for the police, Coast Guard and the KMar is jointly given, just when all three units have moved into the newly renovated police station on Bonaire. There is good cooperation between the ministries in the Netherlands, Caribbean Netherlands and other Dutch Caribbean islands. The group of students consists of a mix of young people from the Caribbean Netherlands, the Netherlands and Curaçao. “We hope for a good mobility between the police, the Coast Guard and the KMar mainly because of this. I want to congratulate the students and wish them a lot of success with the training”, said Buitink.
Deputy director of the Coast Guard Hans Schreuder stated that the Coast Guard has indeed always had its own training, but that it does not differ much from the police: The Coast Guard investigates at sea, the police does the same on land. “By training together, you get to know each other and the collaboration will only get better. Such collaboration is important because you meet each other at the border where the water meets the land .”
Aard Lettink, Brigade Commander in the Caribbean of the KMar, calls it “very important that the candidates forge a professional but also a relational bond for life through this joint training. I think the method of design of this course can serve as an example because you go around together, learn from each other and use each other’s strengths. We as KMar invest lots of energy and capacity in strengthening the collaboration between the different services, as this will boost the best results for the society.”
Jan Kooijstra, Manager Education Police Academy Apeldoorn Netherlands, was also present at the start of the joint training. “We think it is a great challenge to provide training for the police, Coast Guard and KMar in the Caribbean Netherlands. It is an mbo-3 course, in which students are trained in two years time to perform the most common matters in the street, such as investigation, enforcement and control. The strength of this joint teaching is that we can also perform together in the three areas mentioned. That makes it unique,” said Kooijstra.
After the official part all participants could enjoy a piece of cake and some beverage before starting the first day of the course.