THE NETHERLANDS — As her work visit continues, on Wednesday, September 22nd, 2021, Minister Richardson visited the Care- and Security House in Haaglanden or the ‘Zorg- en veiligheidshuis Haaglanden’.
The Care- and Security House is a network organization that brings the justice and care organizations such as the police, the municipalities, the prosecution service, the youth protection services, and the healthcare facilities together to tackle complex safety and security issues in neighborhoods.
The categories of crime varies and can be multifaceted. For this reason, a multi-disciplinary approach is often needed to be most effective. The Care- and Security House is a meeting point for all relevant stakeholders and organizations connected to a specific case where they can dissect and discuss specifics of a case or matter. Combining the efforts of all organizations involved ensures that the particular case can be viewed from all angles and the best collaborative, but customized approach can be used.
During the meeting Mr. Sander Jongenburger, deputy manager at the Care- and Security House said: “We work from an assumption that if you really want to help people, you have to put different pieces of the puzzle together. We bring all the partners together to complete the picture, after we work to make a complete plan of action.”
The Care- and Security House’s main tasks are rendering advice, monitoring cases, and connecting the relevant organizations. They focus on domestic violence, child abuse, high risk and mentally disturbed behavior, radicalization, extremism and other complex problems within their community. This 4-pillar approach is relatively new and was introduced in 2020.
There are various factors that contribute to our youth taking a path of crime, and it will take a village to re-direct them back to the right direction. Upon the return of Minister Richardson, she intends to have a meeting with the Minister Health, Labor and Social Services (VSA) and the Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports (ECYS) to share her findings of these meetings.
“The goal is to forge stronger collaborative efforts between ministries in creating a preventive and supportive approach that will strategically address the various circumstances that are contributing to the high rise of at-risk youth in our communities,” stated Minister Richardson.
The Care- and Security facility was very welcoming and eager to share their organization’s structure and best practices with the Minister of Justice. The main purpose of the Minister’s trip is ultimately to forge relationships with organizations in the Netherlands who are willing to work with Sint Maarten in matters that the Netherlands deals with as well.
This avoids constantly having to reinvent the wheel for matters that we all encounter in the Dutch Caribbean and the Netherlands. This also broadens the opportunities for our youth on the island where they can be encouraged to participate in programs in the region, the Netherlands or elsewhere.
