The Sint Maarten Police Chief Carl John attended the 32nd Association of Caribbean Commissioners of Police (ACCP) Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Conference which was held on the island of Aruba from May 1st through May 4th 2017. This annual meeting and conference was represented by numerous commissioners of police within the Caribbean region.
The Mission of the ACCP is to be the regional organization for promoting and facilitating:
- collaboration and co-operation in the development and implementation
of policing strategies, systems and procedures in the region;
- the professional and technical skills development of police officers
throughout the region; and,
- proactive measures to prevent crime and improve police community
relations.
During this conference many topics regarding law enforcement and crime in general were discussed. The crime rate among the islands in the Caribbean was among others one of the main topics discussed. The crime rate on Sint Maarten, statistically, compared to many other countries within the Caribbean region is relatively low. This is something that the community of Sint Maarten should be very proud of. At the same time they should continue to exercise their civil duty in continuing to cooperate and assist the law enforcement authorities in the battle against crime and other criminal activity throughout the country.
A noticeable difference with crime committed on the island is that the intensity of violence used during these criminal offences has increased. This is unfortunate nevertheless this situation has the fullest attention of the police chief who has ordered plans of actions to be drafted on how, together with cooperation and collaboration of external partners, tackle and deal with this situation.
In the meanwhile the police department continues to exchange information with other stakeholders and external partners, with the intention on improving and enhancing these working relations and in doing so create a safer Sint Maarten. As part of the crime prevention efforts the police department has been providing a Robbery Awareness Trainings and presentations in CEPTED (Crime Prevention through Environmental Design). The police have also entered the schools introducing the TAPS (Teen And Police Services Academy) and Cops and Kids programs.
Terrorism was also one of the topics on the program that was discussed. Terrorism is a global threat and the exchange and sharing of information, mainly among the island in the Caribbean, is definitely one of the most important means of combating this criminal act.
The ACCP 2017 Annual General Meeting and Conference is deemed as a very informative and successful one.