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MARIGOT--Préfet Philippe Chopin, at a press conference Wednesday, disclosed an inspection mission had been requested through the Préfète of Guadeloupe Marcelle Pierrot and the prosecution service to study St. Martin's effectiveness in fighting delinquency, to evaluate policies for combating delinquency, and evaluate the extent of the circulation of weapons.
The mission comprised eight persons: two from Inspection Générale de L'Administration (IGA) from the Ministry of the Interior; two from Inspection Générale of the Gendarmerie Nationale (IGGN); one from Inspection Générale de la Police Nationale (IGPN); two from Inspection Générale des Services Judiciares (IGSJ), and a Préfet from the Cabinet of the Prime Minister specialised in delinquency prevention.
Although a meeting was held in the Préfecture with the delegation on Monday, September 1, it was not clear how long the mission had been in St. Martin. A report is expected but when it would be released was not stated.
"The mission was here to help us get more resources to fight delinquency, to see if social programmes are adapted correctly and to make suggestions," Chopin explained. "I should point out the 16th point in the report from the Parliamentary Mission indicated more work was needed to fight delinquency."
In this regard, Chopin said the Préfecture is focused on four main areas: security and delinquency, armed robberies, violence against persons in the public domain, and domestic violence.
He noted while there has been a drop in incidents of general delinquency and domestic violence, violence against persons and armed robberies remain of concern, exacerbated recently by a string of consecutive robberies in Marigot thought to have been committed by an organised gang.
"The average of 91 armed robberies per year is enormous," he added. "On the other hand repression is good here as is the resolution of cases, in fact better than the national average."
Capitaine Emmanuel Maignan indicated on Wednesday, the investigation into the robberies is progressing but to date there have been no arrests.
The Préfet added a new weapons amnesty campaign will be started again in the first two weeks of October, this time in conjunction with the Dutch side, details of which will be issued soon. The campaign literature will be disseminated in French, English, Spanish and Creole. As before, after a grace period, controls will be conducted.
On road security, Chopin noted of the six persons killed on the roads this year, four were not wearing crash helmets.
"For Security Week, also in October, in conjunction with the Collectivité, Education Nationale and other partners, we will be intensifying awareness about wearing crash helmets and other safety precautions to take."
On chikungunya, he said spread of the virus has been "contained" with the number of new cases regularly decreasing week by week; however, it was not over and vigilance must be maintained.
At the start of the press conference Chopin introduced two new agents at the Préfecture; Chef de Cabinet Emmanuel Effantin who replaces Matthieu Doligez and Director of Social Cohesion Marie-Hélène Coutant who takes the job previously held by the now retired M. Bourget. The pair started work on September 1.
