Has St. Maarten become too soft on lawbreakers? The question periodically gets asked, in particular after what is perceived to be rather lenient punishment.
Recent examples include community service for a woman who scratched an officer dragging her to the police booth in Carnival Village after she refused to follow instructions and for two 18-year-old suspects who robbed another youngster of his gold chain at gunpoint.
It’s important to note that in both cases the defendants also received suspended sentences of respectively 100 more community service hours on three years’ probation and 11 months detention at Miss Lalie Youth Care and Rehabilitation Center on two years’ probation. People should understand that this will be added to their next sentence should they commit another offence, while the teenage duo must pay their victim’s family US $790 in damages too.
Some point to the penal laws and court system in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, with mainly European Dutch magistrates who tend to be more liberal and tolerant than probably most locals. However, existing guidelines and maximum penalties for different types of violations were established and updated by the three autonomous Caribbean countries themselves.
Not only that, but the Point Blanche prison is already full and some convicts with minor sentences are still waiting to serve these. This is one of the reasons broader use of electronic monitoring with ankle bracelets has been announced.
Putting persons behind bars for a long time will not always be suitable or the best option depending on circumstances. Judges as well as prosecutors need a certain degree of discretion in this regard.
