Mega operation in Bonaire moved prisoners into new prison facility
BONAIRE, AUGUST 26, 2018 — Early Sunday morning the process to move about 90 to 100 prisoners to the newly constructed prison at Plantage Aruba in Bonaire started. Prison Director Wibo de Vries (see screenshot above) took a moment to inform the press about the process and said that the mega-operation was going well. As a result of the level of preparation the operation had not been of any cause of concern for the organization.
During the press briefing JICN Prison Director De Vries explained how the mega-operation was very well planned and prepared as it was a long time in the planning. Moving from the old to the new prison facility had started Sunday morning in the early hours and at the time of the press briefing was still ongoing. De Vries explained that the operation was impressive, not only for Bonaire but for the region as well, as some 90 to 100 prisoners were being transferred during the day.
Multiple partners in the justice chain were involved in the operation: Police, Coastguard, the Marines (Defense), Marechaussee (KMar), Customs (Douane) and the personnel of the JICN prison facility. De Vries also told reporters present that the prisoners that had been sent to Holland would soon also be returned to Bonaire as well as the prison capacity had been expanded considerably in the new facility to accommodate not only the regular prisoners, but also to house police cells for detainees and deportees.
More prison staff had been hired as well as the new building is bigger than the old facility and had been constructed according to “BFE standards” and would be able to house prisoners from Bonaire, Saba and St. Eustatius. Despite not having a youth detention section, the new prison complex had a separate section for female prisoners. De Vries concluded by saying that the old prison facility would be dismantled and all the materials would be removed and placed into the new building.
Photo caption: Mega operation on Sunday, August 26, 2018, to move 90-100 prisoners to the new prison complex in Bonaire. Photo by BES-Reporter.com.
