Roseburg asks Government to review emergency powers, add prison space
MP Sjamira Roseburg asked Government to review stronger crime measures as Justice Minister Nathalie Tackling outlined detention plans.
Member of Parliament Sjamira Roseburg asked Government to examine whether crime conditions could warrant stronger public-order measures, including a possible state of emergency, during Parliament’s Thursday urgent meeting on traffic accidents, road safety and Justice matters. The People’s Tribune reported that she also pressed the Ministry of Justice to create detention capacity before prosecutors need cells.
Justice Minister Nathalie Tackling said Sint Maarten was experiencing a peak in crime but did not meet the standard for a crisis or state of emergency, according to The People’s Tribune. She said authorities would continue strengthening enforcement and detention capacity, and that space would be found for serious offences or repeat offending.
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Tackling said the Ministry has agreed with UNOPS to renovate an unused part of the Foreigners Detention Center in Simpson Bay for 16 low-risk detainees. The temporary spaces are planned while construction continues on the new Point Blanche Prison, which is designed for up to 196 inmates, The People’s Tribune reported.
Roseburg questioned whether Article 1:37 of the Criminal Code could be used to create detention space before an immediate shortage arises. Tackling said the provision requires an individual assessment in exceptional circumstances tied to actual capacity pressure, rather than providing a general power to release inmates to keep cells empty.
The minister also said authorities intend to execute custodial sentences that have not yet been served because of capacity constraints as space becomes available. Tackling said minors face a separate detention issue because they do not ordinarily go to Point Blanche Prison and may be placed at the Miss Lalie Center or considered for alternatives to incarceration.
On the Criminal Procedure Code, Tackling said the Ministry must review and answer comments submitted by lawyers before parliamentary debate can continue. She said Aruba has approved its version of the legislation with relatively minor changes and that the Ministry has limited legislative capacity for the work.
File photo: Asksxm / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 · cropped, SXM Today mark added
