The signing for a next phase in the realisation of a new prison (see related story) means it’s much-discussed construction is now set to begin. The project’s first phase focussed on design and procurement, which started in the second quarter of 2023, has neared completion.
The building process will take some 35 months, with an initial stage to be operational mid-2026 and the entire complex late 2027. The joint funding of US $53 million comes from the Government of St. Maarten and the Dutch Ministry of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations BZK.
The latter represents an interesting turn of events, because right after Hurricane Irma badly damaged the already-in-disrepair Point Blanche prison, then-State Secretary of Kingdom Relations Raymond Knops didn’t think it would be appropriate for the Netherlands to pay for a place to lock people up. However, the need to do something about poor detention conditions on the island also for the kingdom in the context of international treaties soon became apparent in The Hague.
Involvement of the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) was said to have provided significant savings in the first phase, although things might have taken a bit longer that way. According to visiting current State Secretary for Kingdom Relations Zsolt Szabó, the agency’s “robust requirements” ensure modern industry standards will be met.
One big advantage is no doubt the proximity to the existing penitentiary, enabling a relatively easy transfer of inmates. Accompanying investments in personnel and other resources are part of the plans.
While a start had already been made with prisoner rehabilitation efforts, adequate facilities for such are lacking, contributing to so-called “revolving door” repeat offenders. Giving convicts a better second chance may help break that vicious cycle.
Perhaps most important is increased cell capacity, so that everyone who gets a custody sentence can indeed serve such within a reasonable period of time, in the interest of fairness. Justice, after al, should not only be blind but swift as well.
