GREAT BAY--St. Maarten's Justice Ministry is exploring the use of artificial intelligence-enabled drones capable of patrolling designated areas, while AI cameras, crime analysis applications and other smart policing technology are being introduced or studied as part of a broader effort to combat crime despite continuing challenges in expanding police manpower.
Minister of Justice Nathalie Tackling outlined the initiatives in Parliament on Wednesday while responding to questions from Members of Parliament during deliberations on the draft 2027 national budget. She said technology and intelligence-led policing will have to play a larger role as recruiting enough additional police officers is expected to remain difficult in the coming years.
According to Tackling, the investments made in police intelligence units in recent years should allow law enforcement to become more proactive, with the objective of preventing crimes where possible and improving the chances of apprehending suspects during or shortly after offences occur.
The Minister said prevention will be an important part of the strategy, but so will greater investment in technology and the use of AI. With physical police capacity difficult to increase quickly, she said law enforcement will have to make smarter use of the technological tools now becoming available.
One of the initiatives under development involves AI-assisted drones. The Police Force of St. Maarten already uses conventional drones during operations, Tackling said, but authorities are finalizing an initiative under which an AI-enabled drone could patrol an area.
The Minister did not provide details on how autonomous such a system would be, which locations could be covered, when a pilot could begin or what rules would govern the collection, retention and use of information gathered by an AI-enabled drone.
AI cameras already being tested
The use of artificial intelligence will not be limited to drones. Tackling told Parliament that the first AI-enabled cameras are already being tested, placing that initiative further along than some of the other modernization measures under consideration.
The Ministry is also looking at AI applications within detective and intelligence operations. According to Tackling, modernization of investigative work includes enhanced training, new investigative techniques and greater reliance on intelligence-led investigations.
She listed predictive profiling, crime analysis, open-source intelligence and the use of data warehouses to search information obtained from confiscated phones among the areas in which new technology and AI applications are being introduced or examined.
Financial crime investigations are another area included in the modernization effort.
Tackling said these initiatives are either already being implemented or have reached the final stages of research into how they can be used effectively.
The push comes as the Justice Ministry continues to confront longstanding personnel limitations. Tackling has previously told Parliament that recruitment remains difficult across the justice chain, with agencies competing for candidates from the same relatively small pool. Her latest explanation indicates that technology is increasingly being viewed as one way of extending the effectiveness of the personnel already available.
Body cameras and stun gun pilot planned for 2027
The modernization effort also includes body cameras and stun guns. Tackling said a pilot program involving both is expected to begin in early 2027.
Body cameras would add another technological component to day-to-day policing, while the introduction of stun guns would require changes to the legal framework governing the use of force before broader deployment could proceed.
The Minister had also told Parliament that research is being finalized into the use of pepper spray and stun guns by the police force, with the planned tourist police pilot expected to examine whether those tools would be feasible for that unit.
Other modernization initiatives include speed enforcement technology and equipment related to impaired-driving enforcement, areas that have received increased attention as Government examines updates to St. Maarten's road traffic legislation. Tackling recently told Parliament that the country's Road Traffic Ordinance requires substantial modernization, with an earlier reform proposal dating to 2015 now being examined.
Bringing more police work into the field
Technology is also being used to address a less visible problem, the amount of time officers spend away from the street completing administrative work.
Tackling said initiatives are being implemented to allow officers to remain productive while working in the field. These include laptops and wireless printers that would allow officers to perform more tasks remotely and complete work at the scene rather than having to return to the police station for routine administrative functions.
Modernization of information and communications technology hardware and software is also intended to strengthen police operations more broadly. Tackling said applications are being introduced to better structure operational management, including areas such as maintenance.
Taken together, the initiatives point toward a policing model that relies more heavily on information, technology and targeted deployment rather than attempting to address every capacity shortage through additional personnel.
The proposed use of AI also raises questions that will have to be addressed as the initiatives move from testing to operational deployment, including what information AI cameras and drones may collect, how long data will be retained, who may access it, how automated analysis will be verified and what safeguards will apply to residents and visitors.
Tackling's presentation indicates that several of the technologies remain in testing or research phases rather than full deployment. AI cameras are already being tested, police drones are currently in use, the AI drone initiative is being finalized, and body camera and stun gun pilots are targeted for the beginning of 2027.
The Minister's broader argument to Parliament was that technology will increasingly have to complement officers on the ground. With recruitment expected to remain a challenge, Justice is looking toward AI, intelligence-led investigations, drones, cameras and mobile technology to increase what the existing police capacity can accomplish.
