PHILIPSBURG--Crimes against tourists may carry increased penalties soon as Justice Minister Roland Duncan seeks to curb instances of crime in general in the country. He communicated this intention to Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) executives in a meeting held in Miami earlier this week. He also outlined this during the Central Committee meeting on Friday.
The Attorney General and Chief Prosecutor were instructed on Thursday to draft a "two-prong" policy that would increase the punishment meted out to perpetrators of crimes against tourists. The policy will use the definition of a "tourist" from the Law on Admittance and Expulsion.
The formula for the increased punishment for perpetrators will be similar to that used for civil servants who commit crimes while on the job. The punishment would be a 25 per cent increase of the penalty already on the books.
The two-prong approach would see the Prosecutor's Office requesting additional jail time for perpetrators and the attorney general coming up with amendments to the Penal Code to make these increased punishments possible.
In general, pending amendments to the Penal Code will bring into existence a "minimum punishment" for crimes across the board. This move is not well-liked by the court, but the court has to follow the law, Duncan said, adding that this was a matter on which Parliament must take a decision.
MP Frans Richardson (NA) was very keen on learning more about the FCCA meeting and the assurances given by the minister. He also asked how the matters of crime committed on the French side and prevention there were being tackled.
Duncan together with Deputy Prime Minister/Harbour Affairs Minister Theo Heyliger and St. Maarten Harbour Group of Companies CEO Mark Mingo used the meeting to assure the FCCA that St. Maarten was taking the spike in crime seriously and that preparations to safeguard passengers and crew members were taking place for the upcoming high season.
The FCCA had put forward a position, subscribed to by Duncan, that "any crime against a tourist is a crime against our economy, our society."
The FCCA is "very adamant" on seeing an increase in punishment for crimes against tourists, Duncan said. It has made similar recommendations to other Caribbean countries, but no one is taking them seriously.
The minister has promised the FCCA that a "permanent section" of the Police Force will patrol tourist areas such as the harbour, the Great Bay beach promenade, Philipsburg and Simpson Bay. This "permanent presence" will be similar to the Soualiga Patrol Unit that the minister said he understood had been "absorbed into the police."
The current statistics show that instances of crime against tourists are "very low," Duncan said, but "this is not a reason to say 'hallelujah, don't worry about it.'" He didn't give actual figures to MPs.
In his opinion, tourists are not being targeted; rather there are crimes that specially affect them, such as car break-ins and the crew member situation which is "a special chapter on its own."
It was also agreed with the FCCA to provide cruise passengers and crew with information about places not to visit in a "delicate way." Crew members have to stop going out to look for illicit products and drugs, Duncan said, pointing out that the locations where crimes were committed against crew members were telling.
"I have told them [FCCA] that we are going to take action if we catch crew members buying [drugs], because possession of drugs is also illegal. We are not going to say, 'you are a crew member'; we are going to treat you like anybody else."
Duncan also invited the FCCA to facilitate a workshop on client-friendliness to the new Justice (police, etc.) recruits. The workshop will be carried out on a permanent basis to help educate all Justice officials.
Discussing crime on the French side, Duncan said a significant number of the crimes against tourists were committed on the French side. Although the police cooperation treaty is not yet ready, the police are working on the matter. The Police Force has been instructed by the minister to come up with a structured working arrangement.
Julio Arca Christmas markets Poland World Cup 2018 Post-traumatic stress disorder Student politics
No comments:
Post a Comment