Temporary prison guard reinforcement through reallocated Netherlands funding

GREAT BAY--As reported earlier, Minister of Justice Nathalie Tackling has secured temporary prison staffing support. She recently clarified that this support was secured through funding reallocated from money previously earmarked for the cost of housing detainees in the Netherlands, allowing government to urgently reinforce prison operations as part of its wider prison reform efforts.

The Minister explained that the funding was waived for this specific purpose and redirected to strengthen operations within the prison, creating the financial space needed to bring in temporary correctional support from Suriname while St. Maarten works to address longstanding staffing shortages.

Under the arrangement, a first group of 14 officers from Suriname will serve in St. Maarten for six months. After that, the group will return and be replaced by a second group of 13 officers for another six months.

Minister Tackling said the measure is a direct response to vulnerabilities that became impossible to ignore following the prison fire in May last year, which exposed the extent of the staffing shortage within the current facility. She said those weaknesses also reflected concerns prison staff had been raising consistently over the past year.

According to the Minister, the immediate priority was to secure prison guards capable of working with inmates across all areas of the institution in order to stabilize daily operations and strengthen safety within the prison.

Before finalizing the arrangement with Suriname, government explored options for assistance from Aruba, Curaçao, Bonaire, and the Netherlands. However, none of those countries or territories had available personnel to provide support. Minister Tackling noted that while there had been discussions years ago with Suriname on cooperation in several justice-related areas, those opportunities had never been fully developed. The Ministry therefore revisited that possibility and reopened discussions with Surinamese counterparts.

After months of negotiations, the assistance has now been formalized.

The Minister stressed that support from Suriname is not intended to be a long-term solution. Rather, she said, it is a necessary short-term intervention to stabilize current operations while government focuses on recruiting and developing local prison guards for both the existing prison and the new institution that will come into use once construction of the new prison is complete.

She added that the temporary deployment will also create an important training opportunity. With the additional officers in place, new local recruits will be able to shadow the incoming guards, allowing for hands-on exposure and practical guidance while local capacity is being built.

Minister Tackling said prison reform requires immediate action to make current operations more stable and safe, while at the same time preparing for long-term structural improvement. She said this latest development allows government to move forward on both fronts.

She also expressed hope that the incoming assistance will bring much-needed relief to prison staff, who have repeatedly indicated over the past year that they are stretched thin, overwhelmed, and unable to continue carrying the burden alone.

The first group of officers is expected to arrive within the next two weeks.

With the temporary reinforcement now in place, the Minister said the next focus will be on building St. Maarten’s own correctional capacity in a more structural and sustainable way.

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