Police thankfully caught half of the four suspects believed to have robbed yet another jewellery store in Philipsburg (see related story). Two employees were hit on their heads with weapons and injured during the incident, which, needless to say, shocked everyone else present inside the business at that moment.
As is often the case, scooters were used as getaway vehicles, but this time not all were able to escape. Moreover, with two now behind bars chances are the others may soon be detained as well, while items of value to the investigation were reportedly confiscated during a subsequent house search.
Noteworthy is that it once again regards relatively young people using the same modus operandi (MO) of smashing showcases to grab the loot. Perhaps the impression exists out there that non-adults won’t be punished as severely.
There may be some truth to that because of the way law enforcement handles and sentences minors, but when youngsters commit such brutal and violent acts their age can never be a reason to let them off easily. Not only that, but there were no less than four cruise ships in port Thursday and what happened is obviously a serious threat to the local tourism economy on which practically all inhabitants depend for their livelihood.
Prosecutors should therefore not hesitate to request the maximum penalty allowed by law, to protect society against these parasites and as a deterrent to discourage others from following in their footsteps. In other words: Big enough to the do the crime, old enough to do the time.
