Duties of the Royal Marechaussee in the Caribbean Netherlands
Most people know the employee of the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee as the person who checks your passport when you arrive in the (Caribbean) Netherlands. That is quite right, for the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee is responsible for the control of the borders, among others. Part of this entails the performance of border checks on arrival at the Dutch border, including the borders of the Caribbean Netherlands. The Royal Netherlands Marechaussee has a wide range of duties. Other duties in the Caribbean Netherlands are:
- the police duties at the airports of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba and civil aviation security;
- performing border control tasks and the manning of border crossing points, as described in the Wet toelating en uitzetting BES (the Dutch Act on Admission and Deportation);
- combating human trafficking, and travel and identity document fraud;
- providing assistance to the Dutch Caribbean Police Force (in Dutch: Korps Politie Caribisch Nederland (KPCN)) on request of the Force, for instance regarding operations aimed at combating cross-border crime;
- providing regular support to the KPCN in Saba and St. Eustatius;
- performing military police duties.