Prosecutor’s Office is to “push the envelope”

There is a lot of organised serious crime on the islands and to combat such the Public Prosecutor’s Office is to push the envelope, new Attorney General for Curaçao, St. Maarten and the BES (Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba) Guus Schram told the Amigoe newspaper. After his official swearing in by Curaçao Governor Lucille George-Wout, the new attorney general invited the press members of various media on that island for a personal interview.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office will have to take risks and continuously seek new (tracking) methods without surpassing the limit, according to the new attorney general. The prosecution is also to give account to the people and court, he added. Schram will first become acquainted with what is of importance on the islands by talking to the media, police officers, lawyers and people on the street. He has already visited Curaçao’s Police Corps and will do so more often in the near future, to know what is important within the force. The intention is to work closely with the police and exchange information to improve the quality of both law enforcement agencies. Schram is also well aware that he has to approach things differently than in the Netherlands. “Although the problems on the islands are recognisable, the solutions in the Netherlands don’t necessarily apply for the problems on the islands or vice versa. For that reason I must collect as much information as possible on Curaçao, St. Maarten and the BES Islands.”

The new attorney general has much experience with combating organised crime. In the past 10 years he worked at the national office of the Public Prosecutor in Rotterdam as case officer and team leader, with intensive involvement in combating terrorism. Until recently he was Acting Chief Prosecutor.

Schram believes he can make good use of his experience on the islands, which is why he applied for the position. “I think it’s a fantastic challenge.” However, he cannot combat the high crime on his own, Schram noted. This is only possible in cooperation with the other partners in the judicial chain and the attorney general, therefore, intends to assist with network orientation.

Schram also finds it very important that the prosecution becomes more transparent for society. “The Public Prosecutor is to maintain contact with the community.” He accepts the new actions of the Prosecutor’s Office to involve society more through the social media by brainstorming on the possibilities to combat crime with open arms. Schram is pleased with this reaching out to obtain much more information from the population.