Justice Minister Anna Richardson (third from the right) together with Team Coast Guard.
PHILIPSBURG--Minister of Justice Anna Richardson and staff participated in the first Justice Week Amazing Race throughout Philipsburg on Saturday. The race was facilitated by Tri-Sport and combined action and fun in a fast-paced challenge modelled after the popular TV Show.
Present at this year’s team building activity were teams consisting of the Minister of Justice, Acting-Secretary General of the Ministry, Staff Bureau, Judicial Affairs, Financial Intelligence Unit, Court of Guardianship, Foundation Judicial Institutes St. Maarten (SJIS), Coast Guard, Customs St. Maarten, Immigration and Border Protection Services, and the Secretariat of the Council of Ministers.
At the start of the race, Tri-Sport representatives briefed the participants with instructions and the rules. Each team included a navigator who was charged with a map of Philipsburg and a clue master who served instrumentally as the team member to solve the clues that would lead their team to the next destination, direct them to perform a task, or complete a challenge for bonus points.
Justice Week began with a three-day Justice Conference, where discussions were held to strengthen collaboration between departments and agencies within the Ministry, said Minister Richardson. “It was also necessary to include an exercise whereby staff of the different departments and agencies could interact. Workers within the different departments are not very familiar with each other. I am committed to changing the status quo to improve efficiency and collaboration across the entire Ministry.”
To conclude the annual Justice Week, police and staff of other Ministry of Justice departments marched through the streets of Philipsburg on Sunday. The “Justice Parade” was saluted by representatives of the Government of St. Maarten in front of the courthouse.
During the prize-giving ceremony at the end of the race, the Coast Guard came out victorious as the winning team for having completed most of the challenges within the shortest time frame followed by the Immigration and Border Protection Services. “I’d like to thank the Avatars, Smooth Operators, Protection Avengers, Dynamite Explorers, Team Coast Guard, Team Customs and the IBP Minions for their participation, and I look forward to even more teams of the Ministry joining in on the fun in 2023,” Minister Richardson said.
Police gathered at the Philipsburg Methodist Church on Sunday morning, when a service was held for the Ministry of Justice, to then lead the Justice Parade as ceremonial closing of this year's Justice Week.
Sunday was the final day of Justice Week. In the morning a church service was held at the Philipsburg Methodist Church, followed by the Justice Parade. The procession walked from Front Street to Emma Plein, Vogestraat, ending on E. Camille Richardson Street at the Police Station.
