Politics
Saint-Martin plans 80 video-protection cameras by 2028; first installations 'shortly'
The Collectivité plans 80 video-protection cameras by 2028 at an estimated €4 million, replacing the network lost to Irma. The first cameras will be installed shortly; State funding is still pending.
By SXM Daily ·
The Collectivité de Saint-Martin plans to install 80 video-protection cameras across the French side by 2028, at an estimated cost of €4 million. The project has received the prefectoral authorisation it needed to start work, and the Collectivité says the first cameras will be installed "shortly".
Photo: SV Zanshin / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
The plan was announced in a press release dated 8 October. Le Pélican reports that the prefectoral order authorising the network was signed on 23 September; the Collectivité's release does not give a date.
Rebuilding what Irma destroyed
The French side has been waiting for a working camera network since Hurricane Irma damaged the infrastructure in September 2017. The Collectivité will roll out the new one in two phases:
- Phase 1, 2026–2027: 61 cameras
- Phase 2, 2027–2028: 19 more cameras
Groundwork for the fibre-optic cables is already under way, timed with the renovation of street lighting. The rollout will move sector by sector.
The Collectivité has asked the French State for funding through its crime-prevention fund (FIPD). According to the release, that request has not yet been granted.
Where the cameras will go
The release lists these areas:
- Marigot
- Concordia
- Grand-Case
- Sandy Ground / Baie Nettlé
- the border areas of Belle Plaine, Oyster Pond, Terres-Basses and Bellevue
- Quartier d'Orléans
- Cul-de-Sac
- Cripple Gate / Colombier
Exact camera locations have not been published.
What it means for residents
There is nothing to do. The Collectivité says the cameras are meant to improve public safety, protect public buildings, prevent crime, secure main roads and support police in prevention and investigations. You may notice fibre trenching works in these neighbourhoods as the project moves forward.
The monitoring centre will be rebuilt at its original site in the Semsamar building. It will be run by the Police territoriale together with the gendarmerie.
What happens next
No start date for the first installations has been published. The State still has to decide on the FIPD funding request.
Sources
- https://comsaintmartin.cdn.prismic.io/comsaintmartin/VlRsDsWP5Di5C2UV_20261009_CP_InstallationVid%C3%A9oprotectionCOMStMartin.docx
- https://www.com-saint-martin.fr/alertes/installation-de-la-video-protection
- https://www.lepelican-journal.com/videoprotection-le-deploiement-des-premieres-cameras-dici-la-fin-de-lannee/