The Aruba Police Force (Dutch: Korps Politie Aruba or KPA, Papiamento: Cuerpo Policial Aruba) is the main law enforcement agency of Aruba. The force operates under the authority of the Minister of Justice and Social Affairs. the force is headed by the Chief Commissioner currently Ramon Arnhem[1]
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 a precinct until 1939. After being taken over by the Public Works Service, it was torn down in 1950. The Oranjestad precinct were housed in the landmark Fort Zoutman and moved to larger facilities by 1967.[2][3] 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.[4] Motorcycle officers were added in the early 1970s.[2]
Organization
The force operates under the authority of the Ministry of Justice and Social Affairs. Day-to-day operations is in the hands of the Chief Commissioner together with other police commissioners and Commissariat staff forming a Management Team.
Divisions
The Police Force consists out of 3 divisions each headed by a Commissioner of Police
General Police Operations (Patrol, Law Enforcement, Tourism Police)
Criminal Investigation Operations (Detective, Forensics and Investigations)
Special Forces (K9, SWAT, Border Patrol, Riot Control, Bike Patrol)
Precincts
The Police Force has 4 precincts in all districts, with its HQ located in Macuarima.[5] the Police Force also maintains a few community-tourism based post for better policing. Each precincts is headed by a sergeant who reports directly to the commissioner of general operations. in 2022 it was announced the current HQ in Macuarima will be centralized and moved to Camacuri. as a broader plan to bring all department of justice under the ministry of justice under a headquarters.
Management
List of Chief Commissioners of Police
No.
Chief Commissioner
Took office
Left office
notes
1
Roland W. Peterson
1986
1989
2
Lucas E. Rasmijn
1990
1996
3
Alwjn R. Nectar
1997
2003
4
Roland F. Bernadina
2003
2006
5.
Peter D. Witte
2006
2010
6
Adolfo R. Richarson
2010
2018
7
Andrew Hoo
2018
2020
8
Vanessa Tjon-Kock
2020
2021
9
Ramon Arnhem
2022
incumbent
List of commissioners of police
No.
Commissioner
Took office
Left office
1
Trudy Hassell
2003
2
Irma Gordon
2013
3
Robert Candelaria
2023
Cooperating with other services
When providing aid the police cooperates with other services. When dealing with an accident for example, the police cooperates with ambulance services, doctors and the fire department. The police also has a strong cooperation with the Koninklijke Marechaussee stationed on the island, when it comes to human and drug trafficking.
Slachtofferhulp
For providing support to victims the police cooperates with Slachtofferhulp (comparable to Victim Support). The employees of Slachtofferhulp are specially trained to provide support to victims of accidents and crime. They make sure that victims are coached, but they also help with filling in forms for insurance or a lawyer.
Notable cases
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 an Americanbartender 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.[6] 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.[7] 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."[6]
Natalee Ann Holloway (October 21, 1986 – disappeared May 30, 2005; declared dead January 12, 2012) was an 18-year-old American teenager whose mysterious disappearance made international news after she vanished on May 30, 2005, in Aruba. Holloway lived in Mountain Brook, Alabama, and graduated from Mountain Brook High School on May 24, 2005, days before the trip.[3] Her disappearance resulted in a media sensation in the United States.[4] Her remains have not been found. Joran Van der sloot and two other individuals, Deepak Kalpoe and his brother Satish Kalpoe, were thought to have been involved in her disappearance. There were rumors that a botched police investigation significantly reduced the chances of finding what happened to Natalee and from getting information from the 3 men last seen with her.
†Physiographically, these continental islands are not part of the volcanic Windward Islands arc, although sometimes grouped with them culturally and politically.
#Bermuda is an isolated North Atlanticoceanic island, physiographically not part of the Lucayan Archipelago, Antilles, Caribbean Sea nor North American continental nor South American continental islands. It is grouped with the Northern American region, but occasionally also with the Caribbean region culturally.
