Dear Editor,
As I reported in The Daily Herald on January 11
(https://www.thedailyherald.sx/opinion/letter-to-the-editor/72657-sad-state-of-affairs-for-st-maarten), someone stole a laptop and an iPhone 7Plus from our house and we wanted to report the theft to the police in the event that our property showed up someplace.
We also wanted to get UTS to provide us with the numbers that were called on my phone after it was stolen but we were told that due to privacy rules we had to get authorization from the Prosecutor’s Office first. Seemed simple enough initially until we ran into problems filing a police report – and the Prosecutor’s Office told us we needed that report for them to authorize UTS to release that information.
The good news is that after writing the article last week a Chief Inspector at the Police Force contacted me and asked me to come in and explain what had happened in as much detail as I could. He was apologetic and understanding and he requested that I file a police report at that time which I did. So, now I had my police report and I could go to the Prosecutor’s Office and get the authorization to see my phone records from UTS. Great.
I then headed off to the Prosecutor’s Office. Boy was I in for a surprise.
The first time I went to the Prosecutor’s Office they informed me that they couldn’t provide me with the papers I needed for UTS because I didn’t have a police report filed. Well, I had the report in hand now.
When I arrived at the Prosecutor’s Office, for the second time, I again explained my situation to the person at the window and handed her the police report. I must say that I felt bad for the receptionist because she was just relaying a message to me, so she got up and went back into the office and then came back and said that I would have to come back to their office between 10:00am and 12:00pm on the last Thursday of the month if I wanted to speak to someone there.
At first I thought she was joking but then I realized that she wasn’t. Not only was it one day a month – it was only for a two hour period in that one day of the month.
I then asked her who had told her to say that. She asked me why I wanted to know and I said because I was going to let everyone know how ridiculous that was. She again went back into the office and two other women then came out and told me the same thing. I asked for their names but they also refused to tell me. Amazing, absolutely amazing.
So, if you are a tourist, which I believe is St. Maarten’s life’s blood, and you need to request assistance from the Prosecutor’s Office you may as well forget it. Because most tourists are not down here for a month waiting around to talk to a Prosecutor in a two-hour window.
So, as I wait for the last Thursday of the month between 10 and 12, and the call logs get older and the trail to the robber gets colder – I still can’t believe that people operate in such a poor manner. Then again, if they don’t accept that crimes occur – they won’t have any work to do – so maybe it’s part of a plan.
Mark Reynolds
