Council says justice system on Bonaire, Saba and Statia remains too weak

GREAT BAY--The Council for Law Enforcement has warned that law enforcement on Bonaire, Saba and Statia remains under structural strain and is not strong enough for the future without lasting improvements in capacity, facilities, coordination and cooperation.

In its State of Law Enforcement Bonaire, Saba and Statia 2025 report, published in May 2026, the Council concluded that the justice and security chain on the three islands remains too vulnerable and requires clear choices, long-term investment and stronger direction from the Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security.

The Council said population growth, immigration, tourism growth, weak infrastructure, insufficient social services and justice organizations that are not properly equipped continue to create risks for the stability and safety of Bonaire, Saba and Statia.

While the report focuses mainly on Bonaire, Saba and Statia, the Council also placed the findings within the broader Kingdom context, stressing that law enforcement is a shared concern across Bonaire, Saba, Statia, Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten. It noted that all countries in the Kingdom continued to recognize the importance of cooperation in 2025, not only to strengthen the rule of law, but also to improve good governance and combat organized and undermining crime.

The Council said the Caribbean parts of the Kingdom continue to face serious limitations in personnel, resources and specialist expertise. As a result, cooperation remains essential to obtain additional capacity, share knowledge, improve law enforcement and protect the integrity of public institutions. The report specifically addressed cooperation in detention, police collaboration, forensic care, data exchange, administrative enforcement and the wider protection of the legal order in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom.

One of the strongest warnings in the report concerned Saba and Statia. The Council found that the criminal justice and security chains on both islands operate with structural limitations and gaps, especially when compared to Bonaire. According to the Council, small scale cannot be used as a justification for the absence of essential capacity or facilities.

The Council warned that the current situation leads to legal inequality for citizens of Saba and Statia and undermines the principle that Bonaire, Saba and Statia, as integral parts of the Netherlands, are entitled to an equal level of legal protection.

The Council urged the Dutch minister to bring the capacity and facilities for the criminal justice and security chains on Saba and Statia to a sustainable level. Importantly, it also recommended that regional cooperation be explored, including with St. Maarten, to help develop better long-term arrangements for detention, care, treatment and support within the criminal justice chain.

The report noted that local facilities for youth support, detention, resocialization, care and aftercare are largely missing on Saba and Statia. Forensic care is described as almost absent. When residents of Saba or Statia are detained on Bonaire, they are placed far from their families and outside their local social and cultural context.

The Council said family visits are often difficult because of travel time and cost, and that detention on Bonaire can effectively become an additional burden beyond the prison sentence itself.

The report placed strong emphasis on cooperation as a necessary part of strengthening public safety and justice across the Kingdom. The Council noted that law enforcement is the responsibility of the autonomous countries within the Kingdom, namely the Netherlands, Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten, but said the countries must work together more effectively to protect the rule of law, improve good governance and combat organized crime.

The Council also pointed out that limited personnel, resources and specialist expertise remain major challenges across the Caribbean parts of the Kingdom, making cooperation essential for gaining extra capacity, sharing expertise and improving enforcement.

In the case of Saba and Statia, the Council went further by recommending that regional cooperation, including with St. Maarten, be explored as part of a better long-term approach to detention, care, treatment and support within the criminal justice chain. It also noted that future cooperation with St. Maarten on detention should be seriously examined, especially given the distance, cost and social impact when residents of Saba and Statia are detained on Bonaire.

The Council also raised concerns about the Makana ferry connection between Saba, Statia and St. Maarten. While the service improves transportation links, the report warned that the security and law enforcement implications were not sufficiently considered. The Council noted concerns about limited goods inspections at ports, which could create opportunities for the movement of weapons and drugs.

It said several justice-chain organizations reported that more such goods are being found on the islands, while authorities still lack sufficient visibility and control over the situation.

The report further warned that border control and maritime oversight require clearer central direction. The Council said fragmented information, unclear responsibilities and gaps in coordination weaken the ability of law enforcement agencies to detect and respond to security threats. It recommended that central direction be established in 2026 for information-led operations in the maritime domain, with clear responsibilities, powers and cooperation agreements.

On forensic care, the Council said the absence of adequate services on Bonaire, Saba and Statia remains a serious risk. It pointed in particular to a fatal violent incident at care institution Krusada on Bonaire in February 2026, involving two residents placed under the Adelanto resocialization project. The Council said the incident underlined the need for concrete short-term measures to ensure appropriate forensic care capacity on Bonaire, separate from the broader Kingdom-wide program already under development.

Youth crime was another major concern. The Council said signals from practice point to troubling developments, especially violence and harder behavior among a relatively small group of young people. It called for a more structural and integrated approach to youth crime on Bonaire, Saba and Statia, with better shared information, early detection, appropriate interventions and aftercare involving justice, police, education, care and local partners.

The report also placed these local and regional problems within a wider strategic security context. The Council warned that the protection of the legal order in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom is no longer only a local governance issue. Geopolitical tensions, transnational crime, migration flows and limited justice-sector capacity now make the strength of the rule of law a strategic security issue for the Kingdom.

The Council concluded that a well-equipped justice chain is central to public safety and legal protection. It called on ministers to make justice organizations financially and operationally prepared for the future and to turn policy intentions into concrete measures with clear timelines.

Without that, the Council warned, the weaknesses identified in law enforcement on Bonaire, Saba and Statia will not be reduced in time or in practice.

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