Justice Minister Anna Richardson (centre) with the students.
PHILIPSBURG--Two groups of students from the study Security Management (“Integrale Veiligheidskunde”) of Thorbecke Academy in the Netherlands have been carrying out assignments for St. Maarten’s Ministry of Justice.
The Security Management programme trains students to become safety specialists with a broad perspective. Students take courses in the fields of safety science, (administrative) law, research, psychology, policy, organisation and management. An integral safety expert oversees the entire field of work. Within the programme students can specialise in minors such as cybersecurity, company operation safety, human factors and law, governance and safety.
Thorbecke Academy approached Minister of Justice Anna Richardson in August of last year to enquire if the ministry would be interested in creating assignment opportunities for the fourth-year students of NHL Stenden/Thorbecke Academy. The minister confirmed an interest in creating this opportunity for the students and together with the Department of Judicial Affairs, several possible assignments were formulated.
The two groups of students each chose the subject matter for their assignment. The first group carried out an assessment of the personal safety risks of prison personnel. The other group chose to research the possibilities of establishing a sex offenders’ registration in St. Maarten. This latter topic is one that was requested by Minister Richardson as there is an interest to establish the registry.
The first part of their assignment consisted of desk research as it was carried out from the Netherlands. Thereafter in November, the students travelled to St. Maarten, where they remained for four weeks and continued their in-depth research and speaking to relevant stakeholders.
Their visit to St. Maarten ended with a presentation of their findings to the minister of justice. It is the intention of the ministry to use the final reports of the students to address the subject matters at the Kingdom level.
Richardson: “I take this opportunity to thank the students once again for their hard work and enthusiasm to execute these studies for St. Maarten. I look forward to receiving their final reports. By extension, I hereby express great appreciation to the academic staff of NHL Stenden, who are the initiators of creating this unique opportunity for the students and the Ministry of Justice. I am profoundly pleased, and as such, also extend much thanks to the management and staff of the Pointe Blanche Prison HvB, the Police Force of Sint Maarten, the Probation Office (‘Stichting Justitiële Inrichtingen Sint Maarten’), and the Department of Judicial Affairs for their valuable contribution in making this venture a success and assisting the students in reaching their academic goals.”
