Second Chamber drops Joint Police Facility

April 09, 2010 10:09 AM

THE HAGUE--A majority of the Dutch Parliament's Second Chamber will vote in favour of an amendment to take the Joint Police Facility off the table.

Instead, the Kingdom Detective Team RST will get a more permanent role in maintaining law and order on the Antillean islands.

Member of Dutch Parliament Johan Remkes of the conservative VVD party will submit an amendment today, Friday, to the Kingdom Consensus Law regulating the Police Forces of Countries Curaçao and St. Maarten and of the BES islands Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba.

In so doing, Remkes proposes to get rid of the Joint Police Facility (Gemeenschappelijke Politie Voorziening GPV) and instead, legally anchor the position of RST. According to Remkes, his proposal to amend the police law doesn't violate the Final Declaration that the Netherlands, Netherlands Antilles, Curaçao and St. Maarten signed in November 2006.

RST will not only be legally secured, but it will also have the independent authority to initiate criminal investigations. Similar to the original goal of the Joint Police Facility, RST will focus on international border-crossing serious crime, a task for which the local Police Forces are insufficiently equipped.

Remkes' amendment will be supported by a majority in the Second Chamber. The Christian Democrat Party CDA, Labour Party PvdA and Socialist Party SP indicated on Thursday evening that they would vote in favour of Remkes' amendment.

With their support for the amendment, parties answer the call of top Dutch Police officials who concluded during a hearing last week that the Joint Police Facility would not be able to handle serious international crime.

The Police managers concluded that the joint facility would depend too greatly on the input of the island Police Forces, which already have their hands full combating local crime. The Police Forces would not be able to supply the necessary personnel for the Joint Police Facility either, because of understaffing and lack of quality personnel. Earlier, Remkes had referred to the joint facility as a "general without an army."

The islands already insufficiently contribute personnel to RST, which is why VVD, supported by CDA, PvdA and SP (together 120 of the 150 seats in Parliament), demand that RST maintains an active role that will be secured in the Kingdom Consensus Law for the Police.

The news that the Second Chamber will change the Police Law will hit the 50-member Antillean delegation that has travelled to The Hague for the handling of the Kingdom Consensus Laws hard. The Antilles has lobbied hard to get the Joint Police Facility in the justice package.

If the Antillean delegation, which includes representatives of the islands, isn't willing to give in to the Second Chamber's demand, there will be no consensus and the handling of the Police Law will be deferred. This will stagnate the constitutional reform process and put off the target date of October 10, 2010.

Remkes suggested on Thursday that he would not give in to the Antillean objections. "The experts are not hopeful that the Joint Police Facility will be able to function properly. By maintaining the RST, the safety and security of citizens is better protected," he said.

According to Remkes, the Final Declaration stated that the RST would be secured via a Kingdom Consensus Law. The Netherlands, Netherlands Antilles, Curaçao and St. Maarten agreed in a September 20, 2009 Political Steering Group meeting that RST would continue its work for two years after the new constitutional relations went into effect.

(Source: The Daily Herald)

9 April 2010