Speech by Karola van Nie, Acting Chief Prosecutor of Sint Maarten, on the occasion of the opening of the youth facility "Miss Lalie Centre"

 

Esteemed invited guests, Thank you all for coming here today.

Protocol has been established, so I can proceed with the content of my speech.

 

I am standing here as acting chief prosecutor, but those of you who know me, know that I am actually a youth prosecutor and also member of the projectteam for this youth facility.

 

The Miss Lalie Center is meant for those boys between the age of 12 and 18, who are placed here under civil or criminal law. It is meant for boys who have made some wrong choices but who we must not rule out of society. Our small community can simply not afford that. This facility is meant not only to retaliate, not only to protect society, but also to educate, to correct, to guide and to offer perspective; the message to those youngsters should be: yes, you made mistakes, yes you are now faced with the consequences, but guess what, we are not ruling you out, we are going to work with you to let you learn from your mistakes and to offer you a perspective. There will be an extensive day program with education, behavioral therapy, sports and involvement of parents or caretakers. There will be a tight cooperation with the Court of Guardianship, with the SJIB, with schools and with the Prosecutor’s Office, which is all aimed towards a successful return of this youngster in society. With this approach and this facility Sint Maarten will comply with article 40 of the Convention of the rights of the child, which states that every child that falls under juvenile criminal law has the right that his or her age is taken into account and that the main goal of every judicial intervention is the childs reintegration into society.

 

It’s a small facility. Only 20 places are offered. Some of you will say: this will be full in no time. But let us bear in mind that juvenile law has a main principle, which is that no minor should be faced with detention unless…. So it is ultimum remedium. last resort. This means that our goal should be to prevent as much as possible that young boys need to be placed here and we need to keep working on that. First of all we need to acknowledge that our Court of Guardianship is a key player in this field. It should get the financial means to fulfil this important ask. The enforcement of compulsory education is priority, as we all know that dropping out of school is an important predictor of juvenile crime. Thirdly we should start a project for alternative punishments. I’m thinking electronic monitoring during pretrial detention and taking the possibilities for community service to a higher level.

 

Let us use the Miss Lalie Center as a center of knowledge. It will teach us what works and what doesn’t when it comes to dealing with behavioral problems and youth delinquency. It can also teach us how we can take care of those that are placed in detention. Because what works for the youth can also work for our young adults who are detained in Point Blanche and even for forensic-psychiatric delinquents who are now too often refrained from the necessary treatments. A humane detention environment fits a democratic country. In such a country there is place for people who do not fit the standard. 

 

I will conclude my speech by thanking first of all Usona, especially Angela Dekker, Stichting Horizon in the Netherlands, the Meyers family, Carmelita of the Ministry of Justice and the policeforce, especially Carl John and the cpo’s for their cooperation and their support.

 

A special thank you for the Minister of Justice mr Dennis Richardson: thank you for your ungoing determination and pressure on us to get this project done within limited time.

 

Thank you Sandra for committing yourself to this challenging project, for your patience, your connections with Horizon and your huge experience in the field.

 

To Ron: what can I say, we women did the talking and you made it happen? In Dutch we say: je had genoeg aan een half woord. Een functie-omschrijving had je niet en dat is maar goed ook. Zonder jou hadden we hier vandaag niet gestaan.

 

To Richelda and Cynthia: Thank you so much for sharing the same vision and having this special ‘faith, trust and a little bit of pixie dust’ to make things happen. Let’s continue on this path, because we have so much more to do. 

 

Last but not least a big thank you to the Miss Lalie Team for your willingness to be pioneers. I’m putting this baby into your care. You will surely do an excellent job in its upbringing. And while this baby will learn to walk, it will definitely fall sometimes. Don’t worry, we will keep holding your hands!