WILLEMSTAD - A large number of police officers gathered on Thursday afternoon for an emergency meeting at the headquarters of the National General Police Bond (NAPB). The officers went on strike because their safety and the safety of the community would be at stake, says Thai Isidora-Lo-A-Njoe chairman of NAPB.
There is a staff shortage at both the Curaçao Police Force and the criminal investigation department. Ongoing investigations cannot be continued and when reports come in, the KPC is sometimes unable to respond. In addition, there are not enough police cars, so that officers even consider using their own cars.
Isidora-Lo-A-Njoe says the police officers can no longer guarantee their own safety, that of colleagues, and the country. The police are ordered to keep working and working overtime, even up to 24 hours straight. When an officer refuses, it is considered a dereliction of duty. “It is modern-day slavery. In this way, the police cannot provide the community with the security they would like to provide," the union chairman indicated.
In Isidora-Lo-A-Njoe's years with the police force, she has never seen the staff so demotivated and disappointed. The officers say that they are being taken advantage of in this way.
The structural overtime hours that are made are not paid. “The budget of the Minister of Finance has been approved, but that makes no difference because there is no money to pay overtime. Money has to come from other departments to pay the police, but there are also shortages there,” explains the NAPB chairman.
The union spoke with Minister of Justice Shalten Hato on Wednesday and Thursday. Both parties did not want to comment on the results of the meetings.