PHILIPSBURG--The shortage of holding cells is having an effect on police's and prosecutors' ability to convict criminals. On October 20 an investigating judge ordered a man to be released because he had been detained illegally in the old police cells.
In this case the investigating judge made the decision based on the fact that the suspect had been held for more than three days in one of the old cells at the Philipsburg police station, which previously had been deemed unfit for use. It was reported that the man had been placed there because the new holding cells were filled to capacity.
Minister of Justice Roland Duncan believes there should be special consideration for St. Maarten's shortage of prison cells. "We are trying to live to standards that we can't afford. These are European standards and there are European countries that don't live up to their own standards.
"I'm not saying, 'Go have people living in animal conditions.' ... Let's be reasonable. Let's give ourselves a chance to put the facilities we need in order. We have pressure all over the place; everyone is undermining the efforts. At the end of the day, somebody committed a crime and they are letting the culprit out on the street," Duncan told The Daily Herald in an interview on Tuesday.
However, some lawyers agree with the investigating judge's ruling. They stressed that Dutch law requires the investigating judge to ensure that suspects are handled and detained in keeping with the stipulated standards.
They also contend that the shortage of cells is not a sudden issue, but one that has been building over time. They said it was becoming practice to hold up to six suspects in a cell for 80-100 days without an opportunity to have time in open areas. This, they believe, resulted in cases of mistreatment and suicide. Therefore, it is their opinion that the investigating judge's ruling was one which ought to have been made years ago for a change in the situation to come about.
Minister Duncan said he had been tackling the issues involved. "I am trying to find all kinds of means to deal with prisoners and their detention. ... I'm not asking for help, I'm just saying let's be reasonable. ... There are specific instructions I gave to the prison on how to deal with prisoners in relation to their movement and their treatment. Prisoners have been able to get what they call 'air.'" said Duncan.
Some of the Minister's temporary solutions include setting up a bail system. Traditionally, bail is a form of property deposited or pledged to a court to persuade it to release a suspect from jail, on the understanding that the suspect will return for trial or forfeit the bail.
In the meantime, the Minister said he would continue to encourage officers to make arrests, despite lack of holding space. He hopes to have some additional usable cells within six months and to have the necessary cell capacity within two years.
To combat the cell issue a reconstruction of the Pointe Blanche prison has been scheduled. For the duration of the reconstruction, the Minister of Justice requested that 15 of the new detainee cells at the Simpson Bay police substation be used as holding cells for inmates as of October 24.
Different blocks of the prison will be worked on one at a time. Each block houses approximately 30 inmates. These inmates will stay in the allocated cells at the Philipsburg police station. The Minister said he was aware that the renovation of the prison caused extra strain on the already tense issue of cell shortage in St. Maarten. He described the process of handling this issue as a "juggling act."
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