Aruba Police Force

Aruba Police Force
Korps Politie Aruba
Abbreviation KPA

Cuerpo Policial di Aruba badge
Agency overview
Annual budget $7.5 million (2006)
Legal personality Governmental: Government agency
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdiction* Island of Aruba, Kingdom of the Netherlands
Size 193 km² (74.5 sq mi)
Population 103,065 (2009)
Legal jurisdiction Aruba
General nature
Operational structure
Overviewed by Ministry of Justice
Headquarters Macuarina #65
Santa Cruz, Aruba
Agency executive A.E. Richardson, Korpschef (Commissioner of Police)
Departments
Facilities
Precincts
Website
kparuba.com
Footnotes
* Divisional agency: Division of the country, over which the agency has usual operational jurisdiction.

The Aruba Police Force (Dutch: Korps Politie Aruba or KPA, Papiamento: Cuerpo Policial di Aruba) is the law enforcement agency of the island of Aruba. The force operates under the authority of the Ministry of Justice.

Organization

The KPA has stations in four district precincts located in Oranjestad, Noord, San Nicolaas, and Santa Cruz, where it is headquartered.[1] The force is organized into nine departments: Staff Division, VIP Team, Internal Affairs, Swat Team, Criminal Investigation, K9-Unit, ions, Special Police Operations (Riot Control etc.), and Executive Support & Operational Management, headed by the office of the Commissioner (Dutch: Korpschef).[2] Under the Chief Commissioner, also known as Hoofd Commissaris, are Deputy Commissioners (Dutch: Commissaris).[3] the Chief Commissioners is often referred to as 'Korpschef'

List of chief commissioners

Deputy Commissioners

History

The police in the capital of Oranjestad were once stationed in Willem III Tower at Fort Zoutman.[4]

In 1923, the Police Corps consisted of 8 officers and was understaffed. The first police station was an Aruban house located at the corner of Kazernestraat and Theaterstraat in San Nicolaas. It was used as an office and jail until 1939. After being taken over by the Public Works Service, it was torn down in 1950. The Oranjestad police station and jail were housed in the landmark Willem III Tower at Fort Zoutman and moved to larger facilities by 1967.[4][5] The clock tower, which also functioned as a lighthouse until 1963,[6] is now part of the Historical Museum of Aruba at the fort.[7] The fire brigade was placed under the authority of the police from 1954 until 1977, when the forces were separated by the Minister of Justice.[8] Motorcycle officers were added in the early 1970s.[4]

Susan McCormick case

On February 10, 1996, the KPA faced the first recorded random homicide of a tourist on Aruba. 47-year-old Susan McCormick was a popular American bartender from Hampton Bays, New York who was found dead at a roadside near the Steamboat restaurant with a bullet in her neck and her wallet still on her person.[9] Officials from the hotel where McCormick had been staying had reportedly told her family that she had died in a car accident. The police were initially puzzled and refused to publicly discuss the case, but told McCormick's sister Sharon Hoyt that there was no sign of a robbery.[10] On February 16, three local youths aged 15, 18, and 19 were arrested after two informants came forward. One of the teens who intended to rob her waved a .38-caliber pistol, which accidentally fired, and fled the scene by car. McCormick's brother-in-law Jim Sofranko, who visited the site of the shooting in search of clues, stated, "I don't think they expected the gun to go off. She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time." Sofranko said the police told him of another case years ago in which a honeymooning groom killed his bride for the insurance money and that "this was the biggest case they ever had."[9]

Mansur family arrests

In October 1997, the Aruba Police Force arrested four men, including Eric and Alex Mansur of the powerful Mansur family, for extradition to the United States. They were among 85 individuals indicted in the U.S. District Court of Puerto Rico on federal charges of involvement in a Caribbean money laundering ring following an FBI sting called Operation Golden Trash.[11][12]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Korps Politie Aruba: district precincts". Aruba Police Force. Retrieved 2010-09-11.
  2. ↑ "Korps Politie Aruba: organization". Aruba Police Force. Retrieved 2010-09-11.
  3. ↑ "Korps Politie Aruba: insignias". Aruba Police Force. Retrieved 2010-09-11.
  4. 1 2 3 "Korps Politie Aruba: history". Aruba Police Force. Retrieved 2010-09-11.
  5. ↑ Monument Office. "Fort Zoutman / Willem III tower". Historia di Aruba. Retrieved 2010-09-13.
  6. ↑ "Fort Zoutman / Historical Museum". Aruba.com. Archived from the original on 26 August 2010. Retrieved 2010-09-12.
  7. ↑ "Aruba Sights & Sounds". Visit Aruba. Retrieved 2010-09-11.
  8. ↑ "The Aruba Fire Department (Brandweer Aruba) history". Aruba Fire Department. Retrieved 2010-09-11.
  9. 1 2 Kennedy, Helen (1996-02-19). "Aruba's Murder Mystery Solved". The New York Daily News. Retrieved 2010-09-12.
  10. ↑ Kennedy, Helen (1996-02-12). "Mystery Shrouds Bartender's Death". The New York Daily News. Retrieved 2010-09-12.
  11. ↑ "4 Wanted in U.S. Arrested by Police in Aruba". Miami Herald. 1997-10-08. Retrieved 2010-09-12.
  12. ↑ "Tobacco Companies Linked to Criminal Organizations in Cigarette Smuggling". Center for Public Integrity. 2008. Retrieved 2010-09-13.

External links

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