French/Dutch cooperation on crime
fighting will have to be formalised
PHILIPSBURG--There is still some uncertainty as to how the issue of French-/Dutch-side police cooperation will play out in the long run, as both sides struggle with border-related issues while fighting crime on the island in the absence of a treaty between France and the Netherlands on cooperation in the area of crime-fighting.
While some verbal commitments have been made to ensure some semblance of cooperation, the fact that it is not a legal agreement established by the Kingdom of the Netherlands and France will result in future incidents such as the October 9 French-/Dutch-side police standoff which gained international attention, many fear.
On that date Dutch-side police officers out on patrol during the night hours chased a suspect vehicle to the Low Lands area in French St. Martin and crashed their vehicle in the process, resulting in a Voluntary Corps VKS officer being seriously injured, along with the police officer who was driving the car.
Somehow there were misunderstandings about what procedures should be followed to take the victims to a medical facility. This resulted in a long delay in getting them treatment and arguments between top-ranking police officials on both sides.
Lt. Governor Franklyn Richards and Police Chief Commissioner of the Windward Islands Derrick Holiday later visited French St. Martin in a bid to thrash out the misunderstandings and find better ways to work together.
Amongst the decisions made then was the exchange of communication equipment to allow easy exchange of urgent information, especially in cases of hot pursuit. Holiday told The Daily Herald on Tuesday in an invited comment that a proposal had been formulated by principals of both sides on the initiative of the French authorities following that incident.
He said, “The proposal will give both sides complete legal authority and coverage to operate on either side of the island within certain parameters and will not leave the responsibility to give permission up to individuals of either side.”
The agreement will have to go through the different levels of government on both sides of the island and the Foreign Affairs Ministries of the two countries, but if it is successfully passed, it will govern how joint exercises by Gendarmes and Dutch-side police should be carried out in a legal context.
It will also deal with the apprehension of suspects across the border and solidify the information-exchange process. Regarding the stage of the process, Holiday said, “I know that the matter was forwarded to the higher authorities within the Central Government. I am not certain at this stage how far the process is on a federal level for the Dutch Government, or for the French for that matter.”
He acknowledged that such an agreement would have to be formalised through a treaty, at which point it will become a legal and binding document. He said, “In the meantime, we have an agreement locally in principle on how we will deal with the cross-border issue so that we can operate without fear of problems.”
With the treaty, “The good thing is that there is no need for fear, because we will both be covered by law and governed as such.”
