Although it never became a confrontation, the “incident” between French Gendarmes and St. Maarten police at Belvedere reported on today is not the kind of thing most readers probably would like to see. Especially in light of the recent serious crimes, a good understanding between authorities on both sides of the border seems a greater priority than ever.
Establishing the legal grounds for such was not easy, because although they share one island it concerns two separate territories, one an integral part of France and the other a country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. That also meant the involvement of both Paris and The Hague, respectively.
A protocol for practical law enforcement cooperation was finally signed and ratified, with basic rules of the game. Nevertheless, there remain mandatory procedures and apparently these weren’t properly followed by the officers chasing the suspect.
Still, one can’t help but wonder how effective it would be to first have to call a commander before going after a motorist who refused to stop in a road control. The latter is no trivial matter, as it indicates he had something to hide, so the police wanting to pull him from his vehicle is understandable to a certain extent.
The impression definitely should not be created that people can evade authorities of one side by seeking refuge across the border with those of the other side. In this case they found only a small amount of marijuana obviously for personal use and the man got off with a fine, but it could easily have been far more serious and, for example, have regarded dangerous firearms.
