‘Limited funds, weak laws contribute to crime epidemic’

Austerity measures, lack of funds, and laws that don’t really deter criminals have contributed not only to the recent spate of robberies against tourists but a rise in crime in general throughout the island, according to Public Safety Commissioner Ramon C. Mafnas.

“We only have so much human resources, so much physical resources, and so much fiscal resources so even if we wish to increase the number of patrols, we won’t be able to do it because we only have so many men,” said Mafnas yesterday.

The DPS chief, along with other police officers, went up to Capital Hill yesterday morning to take part in a hearing conducted by Rep. Ralph S. Demapan’s (Cov-Saipan) Judiciary and Governmental Operations Committee.

Mafnas came to DPS’ defense after a string of robberies against tourists from Oct. 10 to 27 dominated newspaper headlines and left a black eye on the islands’ reputation as a tourist destination.

Mafnas said the “epidemic of crime” can only be prevented if adequate resources and funding are provided DPS.

“What can we do? That’s ultimately the bottom line. We can increase our presence in these areas and the only way we can increase our presence is to have more personnel and more vehicles to support these operations and funding for the officers out there. .We’re also looking at technology because I believe that technology can assist us in law enforcement,” he said.

Mafnas also called on the Legislature to amend the CNMI’s current laws to set a minimum jail time for crimes.

“We need to toughen up laws because I think the recent spate of crimes has become an epidemic. I think we should make it more stringent so there could be a degree of deterrence there.it’s very short, some of the sentences. The intelligence we’ve received is that some prisoners are asking their fellow criminals to postpone their operation because they will be out soon,” he told the panel.

To add to DPS’ financial woes, its funding was decimated by the resources used in the search for missing sisters Maleina and Faloma Luhk. “We spent $500,000 from funds that were identified to purchase vehicles in the search for the Luhk sisters,” admitted Mafnas.

While he understands why the CNMI needs to carefully consider how long criminals should be kept behind bars because of the added expenses, Rep. Antonio Sablan (Cov-Saipan), however, believes that the community is fed up with robberies and burglaries.

“People are not safe anymore in leaving their residences because they feel someone is in the boonies just waiting for them to get out and they come back 30 minutes later and find something missing from their residences. I know it’s a tough situation because of what everyone is faced with but I think we have to eventually make a decision and I refer to the ‘three strikes and you’re out concept; that a lot of communities have put in their books,” he said.

Mafnas said he shares Sablan’s sentiments. “We spend a lot of money if you imprison them because you spend a lot of money on the facility, maintenance, man hours, food. .We have to feed them, we have to clothe them, we have to buy shampoo, toothbrush, toothpaste, you name it. It’s costly. We’re also required to provide counseling treatment. We have doctor there, a nurse, a psychiatrist. It’s very costly but I think it’s worth keeping behind bars what we call recidivists-these people who continue to repeat crimes and return to the system.”

“Some of these criminals are career criminals. They don’t have anything to do. That’s all that they do! They make a living off breaking and entering and stealing and that’s been made clear by them. That’s what they know. They have become proficient in their style and modus operandi,” added Mafnas.

Marianas Visitors Authority managing director Perry Tenorio, who also attended the hearing, said the agency currently provides security to only five tourist sites: Banzai Cliff, Grotto, Bird Island, and dive sites in Laolao Bay and Obyan Beach.

He said one solution they devised is reducing security by one hour each from those five sites and reallocating those hours to other tourist areas.

Lt. Gov. Eloy S. Inos, for his part, said the Fitial administration’s planned meeting with MVA and DPS to try and put a stop to the crime epidemic has been postponed to next week.

“We’ve had scheduling conflicts and decided to reconvene on Monday. We will meet with them and we already have a preliminary draft and action plan,” he said.