One hundred and fifty people who looted the stores in the days following Irma's passage were arrested by the gendarmerie.
“These lootings were severely experienced by the population. A crisis criminal chain was set up seventy-two hours after the cyclone, ”said the Basse-Terre prosecutor, Samuel Finielz. Looting is "theft from commercial premises punishable by five years in prison," he said.
Depending on the degree of seriousness of the facts, certain individuals were presented for immediate appearance before the Basse-Terre court. Fourteen were imprisoned.
Fifty were summoned to court; they will appear before the court of Saint-Martin.
Among the major defendants, some have no criminal record and have stolen items for damage not exceeding one hundred euros. They will be offered a so-called alternative sentence, that is, a citizenship internship including community service (TGI).
For the occasion, the citizenship internship has been redesigned. In theory, this sentence dispensed in Saint-Martin consists of two days of internship during which the participants meet different institutional representatives and associations in order to remind them in particular of the fundamental concepts and principles of French institutions, to work on ideas originally received often phenomena that caused the alleged acts, etc.
The citizenship courses that will be offered to Irma's petty looters will take place over five days from 7:30 am to 12 noon. The participants will be welcomed by the Sem 'ta route association whose members will have to "remind them of the republican values of tolerance and respect for the dignity of the human person, to make them aware of their criminal and civil responsibility as well as of their duties. 'involves life in society and to promote their social integration'. They will also carry out a fixed amount of hours of community service (cleaning of public spaces adjacent to shops, rehabilitation of beaches, etc.). Meetings with traders will also be organized in a neutral location so that they can explain the economic and social consequences of acts of looting. "This will help remind those who took part in the looting of our businesses that there are republican values which structure our society and that certain serious acts are prohibited in our country," said the president of the Collectivity, Daniel Gibbs.
Twenty people are affected by this type of sentence and will be summoned by the prosecutor's delegate. By accepting it, they will see the legal proceedings against them stopped. On the other hand, if they refuse to attend the internship (which is their right) or do not attend, they will have to appear before the criminal court which will sentence them to a suspended prison sentence or a fine. They will also have their judgment entered on their criminal record.
Unlike the classic citizenship internship, it is free. "We have thought about the question and decided not to make it pay because we estimated that the people concerned will already work hours of general interest for the benefit of society," said the prosecutor of Basse-Terre.
Two citizenship internships will be scheduled in 2018.
The establishment of this penalty was acted on Wednesday afternoon by the signing of an agreement between the Collectivity, the public prosecutor, Sem 'ta route, the tribunal de grande instance of Basse-Terre and the prison services of integration and probation from Guadeloupe.
"This agreement is an important step in the reconstruction of Saint-Martin, I am talking here of physical reconstruction, since it is a question of fixing the modalities of setting up citizenship internships applicable to adults who have committed crimes of looting, "commented Daniel Gibbs. "The objective of this convention is therefore to allow looters to become aware of their mistakes and their criminal and civil liability," he said.
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