Sint Maarten. Renovation of the Police Headquarters
On Wednesday February 19th at 11.00 a.m. the contract for the first phase of the renovation of the Philipsburg Police Station was signed by the Minister of Justice Honorable Dennis Richardson, Angela Dekker representing USONA (Finance), the contractor Betonbouw and architect Pream.
This project will cost 1.5 million Dutch Guilders, completely financed by USONA, representing the Dutch Government.
The reason for the renovation is to have the old wiring and plumbing under the cell-complex removed. Because the cells are to be renovated, the room directly under the cells on the ground floor must also be renovated to eliminate the dangers of fire and septic problems.
The renovation is as follows:
8 existing cells will be reconstructed into brand new cells which meet the Commission of Human Rights standards. A special camera system will be installed for 24/7 monitoring of suicidal detainees, drugs investigations (bolita cell), children (TV) and women.
7 cells will be reconstructed into 9 interview rooms with video and audio recording equipment to comply with the new legislation. A special interview room for children will be put in place. There will be an interview studio and control room to watch along with interrogations which complies with the latest standards in the context of the interviewing and questioning of child victims and suspects involved in serious crimes. In these cases the interrogation must be recorded.
The offices under the cells are to be converted into new offices with over 100 lockers allowing each worker to have an own mailbox and a space to store personal belongings.
The toilets, showers and changing rooms will be renovated.
The old and air conditioning system will be replaced by energy saving air conditioners in each room equipped with motion detectors and inverters.
A completely new digital camera surveillance system monitoring around the entire building and roads will also be part of this renovation project.
The Chief of Police Peter de Witte was also during the signing of this contract and expressed how happy he was to see this project come to a realization and is looking forward to seeing more projects of these type executed.
