Saturday’s report about arrests for a string of seven armed robberies within three weeks on the French side should be reassuring to readers. Particularly the use of extreme violence and apparent targeting of the elderly or fragile persons, single women and visitors in these cases had led to growing concern.
Understandably so, because the last thing the destination struggling to restore its tourism economy needs now is for people, especially guests, to no longer feel safe. Gendarmes having found the vehicle allegedly used in the crimes plus part of the loot is a clear indication that at least some of the perpetrators were indeed caught.
Of the five suspects detained, three admitted their involvement, one of whom had already been sentenced to six months prison in 2015 for armed robbery and the receipt of stolen goods. He now faces up to 10 years behind bars.
The importance of security during the rebuilding phase of the island with its open border cannot be overemphasised. On the Dutch side, assistance provided by police from the Netherlands is still very much needed and – if at all possible – should not end in September.
Of course, this is something St. Maarten as an autonomous country within the kingdom eventually needs to take care of itself. However, the local government is simply unable to do that completely on its own at this moment, as the Law Enforcement Council recently also confirmed.
It’s good to know that repairs to the police stations are among the first reconstruction projects to be financed from the Recovery Trust Fund managed by the World Bank starting in June. Nevertheless, in terms of both manpower and materials the existing outside support will realistically be required for quite some more time.
Authorities in both Philipsburg and The Hague need to keep in mind that the cost of not ensuring an adequate level of protection to the public could be far greater in the long run than continuing the present aid for a few months. In fact, the crucial success going forward of what will hopefully be the first “high” winter season since Hurricane Irma may to a considerable degree depend on such.
