Mismanagement blamed for DPS mess

While officials of the Department of Public Safety insist the problems plaguing the government office point to diminishing resources, lack of leadership and mismanagement could have aggravated the situation, according to legislators.

This was what the House Committee on Judiciary and Governmental Operations found out at the resumption of its oversight hearing yesterday after more than a month in recess since it began on April 15.

Committee chair Rep. Frank Cepeda said he doesn’t buy the idea that the problems are all related to the insufficient funds provided by the government to DPS.

“It’s not the money,” he told in an interview after the two-hour hearing. “I refuse to say the problem is money, maybe the leadership within the department can do wonders.”

Cepeda, however, declined to elaborate when asked if he is not satisfied with the performance of Public Safety Commissioner Charles Ingram or any of the department’s high-ranking officials.

There have been reports in the past of infighting within the department and Ingram at the last hearing hinted of political influence by some employees, which he described as “appalling.”

Apparently ignoring the issue, officials testified at yesterday’s hearing of the dwindling budget that hampers its operations. DPS could be facing deficit of at least $2.8 million by the end of the current fiscal year as personnel costs exceed the budget allotted to them by the Tenorio administration.

The shortfall represents overtime of more than 300 police officers and other public safety employees, which has accumulated following the 13.4 percent reduction in the FY1999 budget imposed by Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio last November.

“We are in a Catch-22 situation. Our payroll costs are nearing deficit,” said Alicia A. Agulto, officer in charge of the administrative section.

Because of the funding cut, the DPS request for additional manpower from the Office of Personnel Management to fill the 42 vacancies is still in limbo, risking the vital services of the department.

“We got the impression (that we would have new employees), but the reality is it’s not,” Ingram told the committee. “They are not just approving our papers because of the austerity measures.”

Not enough prison guards: According to Gregory F. Castro, director of the Division of Corrections, the prison needs at least 60 full-time employees to handle more than a hundred inmates who have overcrowded the current facility that was built to accommodate 30 people.

“We want to run the jail, not the inmates to run it,” he said in an interview, noting the 40 DOC officers presently assigned to guard inmates are not just enough to prevent untoward incidents.

Castro disclosed during the hearing the division has suspended several programs intended to provide livelihood training to the inmates while serving our their jail sentence, due to being a security risk.

These included farming, woodwork, handicraft and other programs that require use of blunt tools which correctional officers could not supervise with the limited staff.

Likewise, prison guards have also forbid bringing of food inside the jail to prevent infighting and instead restricted inmates’ families in certain area where they can eat their meals together, according to Castro.

“We have to have procedures, goals and what we want to accomplish through these programs before we can resume them,” he said.

Rep. David M. Apatang, meanwhile, questioned the reassignment of police officers to other divisions within DPS without considering their capability to handle the new functions.

“We’re pretty much spread out. We need to consolidate our forces and our resources,” he said. “We don’t have the money, we have to face reality.”

A resident of Capitol Hill also testified at the hearing, alarmed by increasing incidents of burglary and other crimes in the neighborhood. DPS has beefed up its patrol officers to roam around the area which may not be enough as only five cars are deployed on Saipan at certain hours per shift.

“We just don’t have the bodies (officers) to accommodate the needs,” said Clyde Norita, assistant police chief for special programs.

The oversight, prompted by last March’s prison stand-off and spate of jailbreaks in recent months, is expected to resume again within the next few weeks to shed light on other pressing issues, Cepeda said.