About the national criminal investigation department (Landsrecherche)
The National Criminal Investigation Department Aruba was established by Ministerial Order of February 23, 1993. The reason for the establishment was that there was a need in the government to create a neutral investigative body, which would be charged with objective investigation into criminal acts of civil servants and other persons in public offices. This concerns criminal acts contrary to their functions.
The National Criminal Investigation Department’s core task is to detect and investigate possible criminal behavior of civil servants and semi-civil servants. In addition, the National Criminal Investigation Department investigates violent incidents in which serious injuries or fatalities have occurred, and in which the police or other investigating officers may have been involved. This concerns an investigation into the facts and circumstances of the police action.
The National Criminal Investigation Department is an investigative department that falls directly under the authority of the Attorney General.
What does the National Criminal Investigation Department do?
The National Criminal Investigation Department plays an important role in detecting and investigating official corruption. As a civil servant, administrator or representative of the people you can make or break the trust of citizens in the government. It is therefore important that they always act with integrity and care. In the event of (alleged) criminal behavior within the government, the National Criminal Investigation Department can initiate an investigation. This is done on behalf of the Attorney General and/or on his behalf at the request of the (chief) public prosecutor.
This concerns, for example, investigations into corruption, information leakage, fraud or violation of the duty of confidentiality by officials. In addition to conducting research, the National Criminal Investigation Department is also increasingly deploying its expertise to share its knowledge with government authorities, so that administrators can work on the prevention of integrity violations and general resilience within the government.
Another important task of the National Criminal Investigation Department is conducting criminal investigations into serious violent incidents involving police officers and other government officials with police duties. This concerns, for example, investigations in which investigating officers use a firearm in the performance of their duties, in which someone is hit. The National Criminal Investigation Department also investigates if someone dies in a police cell. It is important for all parties involved that an independent and impartial investigation is carried out: for the victims and relatives to know exactly what happened, but also for the police officer who knows whether he has acted lawfully.
Finally, the National Criminal Investigation Department is asked for cases because of its special expertise or because of the delicate relationships that play a role in a case.
