~And advise on preventative measures ~
MARIGOT--The Criminal Diagnosis and Prevention of Looting steering committee meeting at the office of the prosecutor on August 1 was attended by Chargée de Mission for the Collectivité’s delinquency prevention department (CLSPD) Mélanie Hodge, Prosecutor Yves Paillard, and members of the Gendarmerie, Association Trait d’Union-France Victimes and the Territorial Police.
Setting up of this committee was decided during meetings on February 2 and May 29 with CLSPD, chaired by President of the Collectivité Daniel Gibbs, with the presence of former Préfète Déléguée of St. Martin and St. Barths Anne Laubies, and Guadeloupe Prosecutor Samuel Finielz.
Regarding the post-Hurricane Irma looting in 2017, Mélanie Hodge will carry out, in collaboration with University of Montreal (Professor Jean Proulx’s Criminology School) and assistance of Trait d'Union-France-Victimes, a criminological study to analyse the looting and damage to property, based in particular on criminal procedures carried out after Irma.
This will serve to understand the looting phenomenon which surprised, shocked and embarrassed the inhabitants of St. Martin in a lasting way. Lessons will also be learnt for implementing prevention/reaction actions to be carried out in anticipation of major climatic events that could impact the island again.
Apart from the communication operations planned by the Collectivité, the Préfecture and Gendarmerie prior to or during hurricane alert periods, the steering committee wishes to communicate the following information:
Merchants and business owners should check their insurance policies for theft insurance, install prevention measures (alarm, barriers, padlocks, etc.) and not leave goods visible or easily accessible.
Provide for active prevention: presence of personnel, guards to guard the premises according to the size and value of the goods.
Make an inventory of the goods, take photographs and scan or copy invoices, accounting documents, ledgers, bookkeeping information, etc. The maximum number of details will be highly useful in the event of theft to find the goods and return them, and for insurance purposes to quantify the damage.
The Gendarmerie and Territorial Police encourage registration for the "Relaxed Vacation" operation, which will be extended until the end of September 2018. This is for people who will be absent from the island and who may be received by the Prévention Technique de la Malveillance (PTM) Gendarmes before their departure, to have their homes or businesses integrated into a patrol system (note this is not a 24/24 security guard).
The Gendarmerie and Territorial police also encourage merchants to join the “Vigi-Commerce” SMS system (already 150 members) to be warned instantly of any serious criminal acts in progress. The Gendarmerie will draw up a precise map of the places to be protected as a priority, based on type and value of the goods, in view of the looting committed last year.
For victims of crime, do not try to take the place of the police, indulge in vigilante justice, or use firearms in public. Take photos and videos of the looters without putting yourself or them in danger, to hand over to Gendarmes when filing a complaint or report.
Report to patrols (Territorial Police, Gendarmerie, Police aux Frontières (PAF) any infraction committed. If people cannot move, simple complaints may be accepted by patrols, in addition to the complaint points that will be open in French Quarter and Concordia.
The public should be aware that looting is theft and therefore an offence exposing perpetrators to arrest, police custody, prosecution and criminal convictions. The penalties incurred in the penal code according to aggravating circumstances of theft range from three to 10 years imprisonment, in addition to possible fines and confiscation of vehicles, property or money and, where appropriate, a ban from French territory.
It is advisable for the public to join in solidarity with neighbours in their district for food-and material-sharing or survival rather than risk receiving or using stolen goods that are sometimes accompanied by violence.
In the framework of the CLSPD action “citizen participation” which will be set up in connection with the district councils, reports of illegal acts, suspicious behaviour, or storage places for stolen goods are accepted as useful citizen acts.
Traffic restrictions must always be respected so as not to hinder emergency and security services. People with special medical treatment who do not require evacuation should plan with their attending physician for a supply of medication and are advised not to accept medications of questionable origin.
