Dutch Marines visit the Point Blanche Prison and House of Detention

On Wednesday, September 20 th , 2023, the Sint Maarten Task Force of the Dutch armed forces in the Caribbean, consisting of fourteen (14) executives, visited the Point Blanche Prison and House of Detention for an introductory meeting with the Prison director, Mr. Steven Carty and the Prison Management Team.

The Sint Maarten Taskforce, who provides assistance to Sint Maarten when struck by a disaster such as a hurricane, is currently in Sint Maarten as part of their annual visits to the Caribbean.

Earlier this year, the Prison Director, Mr. Carty, and Head of Support, Mr. Richard Zijlstra held a meeting with the Commander of the Marines on Sint Maarten, Mr. Arie Noordam (MAJMARNS) and Mr. Eri Gomes (SMJRMARNALG). During this meeting, Director Carty invited the Marines to visit the Point Blanche prison for a tour, which led to the current visit.

During the introductory meeting on Wednesday, September 20th, a presentation was given to the marines by prison staff on the current developments and challenges experienced at prison. The marines also gave a presentation about their operations, tasks and structure within the Caribbean.

Finally, there was an extensive discussion about the collaboration and assistance by the marines moving forward and additional options for support were also discussed.

After lively and in-depth discussions and questions from both parties, the executives toured the Point Blanche Prison in two groups.

At the conclusion of the visit, both the Point Blanche Prison and the Marines agreed that the visit was very fruitful and reiterated the importance of meeting more frequently.