GREAT BAY--Minister of Justice Nathalie Tackling on Wednesday said recent incidents involving minors have heightened public concern and underscoring that enforcement alone will not solve the problem. She said Government is continuing work toward implementation of the Halt program while urging parents and guardians to intervene before poor decisions by young people develop into criminal behavior.
Tackling said the Ministry’s wider approach to safer communities combines prevention, early intervention, law enforcement, detention reform, border security and regional cooperation.
The Minister specifically addressed recent incidents involving young people, including violent behavior and break-ins, saying such conduct cannot be allowed to become normalized. At the same time, she stressed that police action by itself cannot provide the entire solution.
Tackling pointed to the Halt program as an important part of the Ministry’s developing youth intervention strategy. The concept is based on intervening with eligible young offenders before behavior escalates further, with the objective of holding young people accountable while reducing the likelihood of reoffending.
The Halt approach used in the Netherlands is an alternative intervention for eligible young people between 12 and 18 who commit certain offenses, allowing early action outside the traditional criminal process under established conditions. Tackling has been exploring prevention and intervention models as part of St. Maarten’s wider justice reform work.
HALT stands for “Het Alternatief,” or “The Alternative.” It is an early-intervention model designed to keep eligible young people who commit relatively minor offenses from immediately entering the conventional criminal justice system. In the Netherlands, the intervention generally applies to youth ages 12 to 17. A young person must accept responsibility and agree to participate. Depending on the case, the program can include conversations with the youth and parents, learning assignments, unpaid work, an apology to the victim and compensation for damage. Successfully completing the intervention ordinarily prevents a criminal record.
The model is already operating in the Caribbean Netherlands, including St. Eustatius, Saba and Bonaire, where it was incorporated when juvenile criminal law took effect in August 2020. There, police or a compulsory-education officer can refer eligible 12- to 17-year-olds for relatively minor offenses. The Public Prosecutor can also approve referrals for certain more serious matters under what is called “Halt Plus.”
The Minister gave particular recognition to parents who recently brought their own children to the police station after recognizing them in videos connected to criminal investigations.
Four minors were taken into custody following the September 13 break-ins and vandalism at several Festival Village booths. Police confirmed that parents brought the young suspects to the station after recognizing them in footage circulating online.
Tackling described those actions as an important example of parents accepting responsibility and cooperating with law enforcement.
She said such decisions are difficult for families but demonstrate the role parents and guardians must play in restoring accountability within the community. The Minister said Government has responsibilities toward young people, but families must also be prepared to intervene when they recognize that a child is moving in the wrong direction.
The Festival Village case follows another recent incident involving students on L.B. Scott Road, where a video showed a minor being assaulted by several other students. In that investigation, parents also brought suspected participants to police after the footage circulated publicly.
Tackling said these examples reflect the type of community responsibility that must accompany Government programs, policing and youth intervention.
