On a recent Friday, Suriname Police Commissioner Melvin Pinas continued his signature “Kon Mit’ KC” outreach initiative – a program designed to build direct, open communication between the nation’s top law enforcement leadership and ordinary citizens – with visits to two busy public markets along Paramaribo’s Waterkant: Vreedzaammarkt and Centrale Markt. The walking tour and community listening session gave local vendors an unfiltered opportunity to share their long-unaddressed safety grievances directly with the head of the national police force, and the overwhelming majority of vendors expressed deep dissatisfaction with current security conditions in and around the market districts.
Most pressing for vendors was the demand for a far more visible police presence in the market areas, with widespread calls for immediate intervention to address persistent public nuisance and safety threats posed by unhoused individuals who frequent the market districts. According to vendors, these individuals regularly create unsafe conditions, commit petty theft, and have physically assaulted both vendors and customers. Even beyond core safety issues, vendors took advantage of the rare opportunity to speak directly with Pinas to raise a range of other community concerns, including declining foot traffic that has pushed sales lower, unregulated heat affecting daily work, and the ongoing problem of unlicensed informal fish vendors operating illegally within the markets.
Market master Sergio Anoesa and multiple vendors confirmed that attempts by market management and private security to permanently remove these unlicensed vendors have repeatedly failed. The unauthorized sellers have even been known to attack enforcement officials, in some cases using machetes to intimidate staff. While authorities are occasionally able to temporarily remove the illegal vendors, they almost always return to resume operations within a short period of time.
During Pinas’s visit, vendors detailed multiple recent violent incidents linked to unhoused individuals in both markets. One recent attack involved an unhoused individual stabbing both a vendor and a customer, while another incident caused widespread chaos when a man who had stolen a knife held it to his own throat while moving backward through the crowded market, leaving responders struggling to subdue him without causing harm. Pinas even witnessed an on-site arrest during his tour: police took an unhoused individual into custody immediately after they allegedly assaulted another person with a large piece of wood at Centrale Markt. Confiscated weapons from recent incidents at the markets included multiple knives and the large wooden weapon used in the attack Pinas witnessed.
When Pinas asked vendors to share their experiences with local police services in their residential neighborhoods, responses were mixed. Some reported that patrols are rarely visible in their communities, while others said service was acceptable but still had significant room for improvement. A common request across all responses was for clearer communication and faster processing of reported cases and investigations. Several vendors chose to share sensitive concerns off-camera, and Pinas left his personal phone number with multiple attendees, who confirmed they planned to reach out with additional details after the visit.
In response to the concerns raised during the tour, Pinas and his leadership team pledged to prioritize improving safety for the Waterkant market districts. Both Vreedzaammarkt and Centrale Markt fall within the designated security zone stretching from the Waterkant to William Kraanplein, and the department plans to roll out additional community police assistance posts at strategic locations across the zone in the coming weeks. The first of these new posts is already operational on the grounds of the Ramada Hotel and Casino.
Pinas expressed overall satisfaction with the progress of the “Kon Mit’ KC” campaign to date, noting that he has received consistent outreach from community members through the personal contact information he shares during visits. He added that the information gathered through these direct conversations has already enabled law enforcement to take targeted action and achieve measurable successes in reducing local crime. Friday’s market visit marked the fourth time Pinas has taken his outreach campaign directly to street-level communities, with plans to expand the initiative nationwide in coming months to give residents across all regions of Suriname the chance to meet and speak directly with the national police chief.