Suriname’s newly installed leadership of the Suriname Police Union (SPB), headed by chair Revelino Eijk, has laid out an aggressive policy agenda for its term, centered on drafting a landmark national internal security plan for the national police force that addresses long-unresolved workplace hazards, flawed operational protocols, and public image damage.
The Eijk-led board officially took office Wednesday during a special general members’ assembly, following a formal handover ceremony. Eijk first assumed the union’s top role in 2025, succeeding Poetini Atompai, who stepped down to enter politics and now holds a seat in Suriname’s National Assembly. This term marks the third consecutive time the Renewal Movement, the faction founded in 2016 by Atompai, Sergio Gentle and Raoul Hellings, has secured control of the police union’s leadership.
In his opening address to members, Eijk acknowledged that meaningful progress had been achieved by the previous leadership, but emphasized the new board’s ambition to deliver greater gains for rank-and-file officers both within the police organization and in field operations. He also updated members on ongoing salary negotiations, confirming that no agreement has yet been reached between the Surinamese government and security sector unions on a proposed 15% pay raise, with talks still ongoing. Beyond base salary increases, the union is also pushing for substantial raises to inadequate job-specific allowances: Eijk noted that a current allowance for judicial assistant officers currently stands at just 183 Surinamese dollars, while the annual risk allowance for officers is only 570 Surinamese dollars.
At the top of the new board’s priority list is the creation of the first national internal security plan for the national police. Eijk stressed that the plan is not focused on high-profile field equipment like bulletproof vests, but on addressing dangerous, long-neglected conditions that officers face every day inside police stations themselves.
“What we see is that the safety of our people in their own workplaces is not guaranteed,” Eijk told attendees. “We have buildings that can barely be called police stations anymore: ceilings that are at risk of collapsing, rampant rat infestations, bat droppings falling into work areas, sewage that bubbles up into the station every time it rains. Officers are working on broken chairs that leave them with chronic back pain.”
Eijk added that many stations lack even the most basic safety infrastructure and emergency protocols. Some stations do not have working fire extinguishers, and there are no clear action plans for emergencies in cell blocks. “Officers work in cell blocks every day, but they have no idea what to do if a fire breaks out,” he said. “There is no documented workflow, no official protocol, no evacuation plan. What is an officer supposed to do? Should they open all the cells? Who should they call? No one knows.”
The proposed national security plan will also establish clear, standardized protocols for handling, storing and securing seized evidence and contraband. Eijk pointed out current dangerous gaps in existing practices: for example, seized gas cylinders are often stored in enclosed indoor spaces, when they should be kept in open, ventilated areas. He also cited a case where a truck loaded with illegal, hazardous chemicals is being guarded by officers with no protective measures in place to guard their health.
Beyond safety risks, clear protocols for seized goods will also reduce the risk of theft and unfair scrutiny of officers, Eijk explained. Without clear guidelines, officers are sometimes wrongfully implicated in investigations into missing seized property even when they had no involvement in the disappearance. “There are no clear written guidelines or protocols for how these tasks should be done,” he said. “We have thought through these issues. This is about our safety, our health. That is why a national security plan must be created.”
Another core priority for the new SPB leadership is repairing the badly damaged public image of the Suriname Police Corps. Eijk said the force’s reputation has suffered severe dents in recent years, describing it as “dented over and over again.” He called on all officers to hold themselves and their colleagues accountable, urging intervention when any member — whether a union member or not — is at risk of misconduct.
Noting that numerous integrity violations have already occurred within the force, Eijk emphasized that restoring public trust in the police must start from within the institution itself.