One could not help but smile when taking note of the suggestion by a Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament member with support of another (see related story) to make use of the many vacant cells in the Netherlands for the housing
of inmates from the Dutch Caribbean. The reasoning was that as the prisons of St. Maarten, Curaçao and Aruba are overcrowded and understaffed, this in effect would kill two birds with one stone.
The humorous aspect is that several politicians in The Hague – be it not of the same parties – have been calling for the “sending back” of people from the islands who commit crimes in the European part of the Kingdom, regardless of where they were officially residing. Because there is only a single Dutch citizenship and all men are equal under the law, this dubious plan was obviously a dead-end street from the beginning.
But it’s a bit ironic that some now want so-called “Antillean” convicts to come help fill the increasingly empty jails in the Netherlands. Perhaps they ought to start by keeping the ones they already have, it could be argued.
In any case, Dutch State Secretary of Security and Justice Klaas Dijkhoff indicated that the proposal was highly unlikely to be accepted. He said there was sufficient capacity in the overseas special public entities Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba known as the Caribbean Netherlands, while the Dutch Government is not responsible in this matter for the autonomous countries St. Maarten, Curaçao and Aruba.
The forced downsizing of the penitentiary system in the Netherlands does increase the possibilities of recruiting much-needed guards and other correctional personnel for the islands, preferably with a Caribbean background so they understand the local culture better. In that sense, the news still can be considered positive.
