DPS scrambling for funds to meet court order

Faced with dwindling funds for its operation, the Department of Public Safety has started identifying areas where it can further carry out cuts to meet the Superior Court’s deadline for the renovation of the Division of Corrections for mentally-ill inmates and detainees.

DPS Commissioner Charles W. Ingram, however, said he could not further reduce the budget for operations just to accommodate the expenses for the improvement of the prison.

“We cannot touch the money for operations because we have to make sure that the patrol cars are running 24 hours a day,” he said.

The DPS chief is planning to discuss the planned renovation of DOC with Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio and members of the Legislature to seek their assistance in coming up with the needed amount for the construction of adequate facilities.

The scheduled renovation of the prison was brought about by an earlier court order directing DOC to make sure that there is a facility for detainees and inmates with mental illness separate in sight, sound and location from other prisoners.

Superior Court Associate Judge Timothy H. Bellas gave DPS and the Department of Public Health until Aug. 16, 2000 to meet the requirements it has imposed to make sure that murder suspect Dwayne M. Sibetang, who is mentally ill, gets appropriate treatment while in prison.

The court also ordered DOC to ensure that it has all the necessary facilities to meet the requirements of the Patient’s Rights Act and the Criminal Commitment Act. Likewise, the facilities should be adequately staffed with qualified mental health professionals, including a forensic psychiatrist.

Mr. Sibetang, 28, is facing first degree murder for the slaying of nonresident worker Ma Dong Che on March 16, 2000.

The government is now faced with the problem of how it will meet the court’s requirement to hire five forensic psychiatrists that will be available 24 hours a day. It will cost the government $200,000 to hire just one forensic psychiatrist.

DPH and DPS are now racing against time to be able to present a timetable to the court next month.

Last Friday, officials from both departments met and surveyed the prison to be able to make a decision on how they could upgrade the facilities to meet federal standards.