New officers drafted for law enforcement.

What this could mean for more routine controls on the streets of St Maarten. The Justice Minister Anna Richardson says this must be a proud moment for the officers, having completed their training and officially drafted in the justice chain as new cadets. The Justice Minister along with the PM Silveria Jacobs and His Excellency Governor Holiday flanked the batch of new officers as they take the oath, then posed for this picture and later send off to begin their duties. The justice minister officially charged the new recruits in her statement when she said, taking the oath confirms that they will honor, respect, protect, serve and enforce the law impartially.

From a public perspective, what has been the case on St. Maarten for decades and even more so in recent times, are the lack of visibility of law enforcement officers which we all know would discourage criminal activities if they are regularly patrolling, and by doing so, they will be able to respond quickly having a better chance of apprehending those committing wrong; the setback in KPSM has been not enough officers working or showing interest in the job partly because of not being able to manage well enough the Dutch language.

However, this set off new officers should mean more visibility of police officers especially when they were told by their boss, the justice Minister Anna Richardson upon graduating, “You are a representation of the Korps Politie Sint Maarten which means you have been entrusted with an incredible amount of authority that comes with a huge responsibility”. They were also forewarned of possibly experiencing horrific tragedies; from vehicle accidents, suicides, homicides, robberies, and matters of domestic violence all of which are different, yet as first responders, these scenes are serious matters of society that they have signed up for and is part of their call of duty. For that says the Minister “we as a community are forever grateful”.
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