Dutch want umbrella organisation
for all police forces, islands disagree
PHILIPSBURG--The intention of the Dutch Government to institute a large and profound central service for the Police Force is the main problem point between the Dutch and the Antillean partners with regard to the draft Consensus Kingdom Law for the police.
The Project Group for Maintenance of Law, Administration of Justice and Constitutional Affairs met on the draft law in Curaçao last Monday. The Kingdom Political Steering Group gave the project group the task to draft a report on all the differences of opinion concerning the draft consensus law on police.
The negotiation about this draft consensus law is still in an early stage and is considered to be the last big hurdle to be taken in preparing for constitutional change within the Kingdom.
Project Director for Constitutional Affairs Dennis Richardson formed part of the project group for St. Maarten and told The Daily Herald in an invited comment that hopefully the final draft of the document containing difference of opinion would be ready in three weeks.
He said the project group had identified several differences of opinion when discussing the draft consensus law, but the main issue was that the Dutch wanted to create a central police service almost equal to a separate police force from those of each of the islands.
This service would have to supervise the police forces of the islands. “The islands, however, do not agree with the Dutch on this,” Richardson said.
The draft report will be discussed in the next meeting of the Kingdom Political Steering Group for political decision taking, as was agreed in the last meeting of the steering group in Curaçao on May 22.
Richardson believed the Kingdom Political Steering Group could meet again especially to discuss the draft Consensus Kingdom Law on the police by the end of June or the beginning of July.
Dutch State Secretary of Kingdom Relations Ank Bijleveld-Schouten asked for political maturity from all partners to reach a consensus on this draft law. St. Maarten said it wanted to be treated as an equal partner when discussing the draft consensus law.
St. Maarten’s representatives almost walked out on several occasions during the last meeting of the Kingdom Political Steering Group, because they thought the island’s position on certain matters was not being taken seriously.
If the discussions on the draft Consensus Kingdom Law on police go in the same manner there will be no consensus, Constitutional Affairs Commissioner Sarah Wescot-Williams announced.
