KPC overtime budget exceeded every year

April 12, 2023  –WILLEMSTAD – The extra paid overtime at the Curaçao Police Force (KPC) amounted to half a billion guilders in the period from 2015 to 2022. They are called ‘extra’ paid hours because they were already included in the budget and that amount was exceeded every year. This year the budgeted amount of 12.8 million guilders will be exceeded again. This is according to the Minister of Justice, Shalten Hato during the parliamentary question hour.  

According to Hato, there are currently police officers who work 125 to 250 hours of overtime per month. So much overtime is being worked because there is a shortage of staff at the KPC. Now, 690 people work at the KPC, which amounts to only 66 percent of the positions held.  

According to the layout plan, the KPC needs a workforce of 903 people, ranging from administrative staff to police officers who take to the streets. Hato indicates that the design plan is outdated and that new advice is currently being prepared that will be discussed in the Council of Ministers in mid-2023 and later in the Central Organized Consultation in Civil Service Affairs.  

In order to resolve the staff shortage as quickly as possible, the Training Institute for Law Enforcement and Security Care is discussing the introduction of a shortened study for officers in training. In addition, extra funds have been included in the Country Package to attract new staff.  

The Court of Audit Curaçao is currently conducting an investigation into overtime at the KPC. However, the results are not yet available.