Kralendijk- For the second time, the prison directors of the Dutch Caribbean Prisons held a joint consultation on Bonaire.

Since 2016 the consultation structure was intensified and the directors of the prisons of Sint Maarten, Aruba, Curacao and Bonaire aspire to an optimal cooperation. Mutual movements of detainees, training, and cooperation in the field of detention regimes, are for instance part of this cooperation. Working together provides strength and all the directors agree that there are many good opportunities to encourage cooperation and thus the efficiency within the regional prisons.

While in Bonaire a new penitentiary facility will shortly be opening their doors, there are great concerns of the state of especially the Point Blanche prison in Sint Maarten which suffered a lot of structural damage during the passing of hurricanes Maria and Irma late 2017.

While Saba and St. Eustatius have no full-fledged prisons, Minister of Justice from The Netherlands Ferdinand Grapperhaus during a recent visit to Statia visited the police holding cells and agreed that urgent improvements are needed to the facility. Shortly after the transition of 10/10/10 it was envisioned that Statia would have its own prison; later however the project was deemed too expensive and therefor no longer feasible.