Screening of justice personnel in the Caribbean Netherlands falls short and entails significant risks

The integrity of employees within the justice system is an important prerequisite for trust in the
rule of law. Justice personnel have access to sensitive information, often hold far-reaching
powers, and work in positions where reliability is essential. For that reason, careful, timely, and
complete screening is of great importance.

The Law of Enforcement Council has conducted an investigation into the screening of justice
personnel in the Caribbean Netherlands. The investigation focused on the Public Prosecutor’s
Office BES, the Caribbean Netherlands Police Force, the Caribbean Netherlands Correctional
Institution, the Caribbean Netherlands Child Protection Board, and the Caribbean Netherlands
Probation Foundation.

The Council concludes that the current screening of justice personnel at the organizations
investigated in the Caribbean Netherlands falls short and entails significant integrity risks. The
current legal and organizational framework for screening no longer meets the requirements that
justice organizations may and must set for a careful, timely, and complete assessment of the
reliability of current and future employees. As a result, integrity risks cannot be fully identified,
including on a periodic basis. This leads to unacceptable vulnerabilities that put pressure on the
functioning and credibility of justice organizations in the Caribbean Netherlands.

It also occurs that employees start work before the screening process has been fully completed.
As a result, individuals without complete screening may gain access to confidential information.
The Council also notes that existing legal possibilities are not being used sufficiently. For
example, police data are not included in the assessment of a Certificate of Good Conduct in
practice, even though this is possible under certain conditions. In addition, the Caribbean
Netherlands does not have a variant of the Certificate of Good Conduct based on police data,
while such a more stringent form of screening has already applied in the European Netherlands
since 2022 for certain positions within justice organizations. It also occurs that employees start
work before the screening process has been fully completed. As a result, individuals without
complete screening may gain access to confidential information.

Regarding the Caribbean Netherlands Police Force, the Council observes that the ministerial
regulation that should have further elaborate reliability investigations — a more stringent form of
screening specifically for the police — is still lacking. The Council qualifies this as negligence
on the part of the Minister of Justice and Security, who is also the administrator of the police
force. As a result, there is still no elaborate and legally safeguarded framework available for the
screening of police personnel. Consequently, most police officers have not yet undergone this
form of screening.

According to the Law of Enforcement Council, central direction is also lacking. The
organizations involved endorse the importance of this and recognize the current limitations of
screening in the Caribbean Netherlands, but in practice it is insufficiently clear who isresponsible for what. The Council therefore calls on the Minister of Justice and Security to take
central direction and to make clear and binding agreements with all parties involved.

Partly in view of the conclusions and the risks identified, the Council will closely monitor the
follow-up to the recommendations and keep itself informed about progress.

The inspection report can be read on the website of the Council for Law Enforcement:
https://www.raadrh.com/reports-bes

Law of Enforcement Council.