House gets DPS papers, awaits other agencies

Rep. Clyde Norita disclosed yesterday that his committee has received several sets of documents from the Department of Public Safety but additional information is still being requested from related agencies to assist the House of Representatives in its ongoing investigation on the looming crisis at the police force.

In an interview, Norita said the House Committee on Judicial and Government Operations received most of its requested materials from the DPS but it is still waiting for the monthly report of each division for the past year.

“We need to identify other information that could help us look further on what’s going on and what we can do about it,” said the lawmaker.

He added that this is particularly true now that a petition signed by an overwhelming number of police and fire officers surfaced last week.

According to Norita, the JGO received from the DPS the listing of all vehicles, the cellular phones and its billings, personnel action of promotion and reallocation of police and fire officers, and lists of amounts owed to auto shops and vendors, among others.

Also, the House is waiting for the Procurement and Supply Office to furnish it a complete list of DPS vehicles, while the Office of Personnel Management has yet to submit the copy of all DPS personal action for two years. The OPM documents would include promotion and corresponding salary increases.

“We are expecting to get all these documents next week, including the master list for all other agencies, not only for the police department,” he said.

If all documents are provided and the House is satisfied with the reports submitted, Norita said an oversight hearing might not proceed as planned.

“As long as the DPS allows the committee to get all the necessary documents, we would be able to move on in resolving these matters,” said Norita.

On Friday, Norita revealed that majority of personnel and officers at the DPS and fire division have expressed dissatisfaction with the management of Commissioner Edward Camacho and have asked the help of the Legislature and other elected officials to straighten things out at the department.

In papers filed last week at the House, at least 160 officers signed a petition circulated within the department and its divisions for a month asking the Legislature to look into what they described as “personal feuds, vindictive condition, and disagreements occurring between the members of the DPS upper management.”

The police and fire officers said the morale of frontline officers is already at rock bottom because of these.

More than 80 percent of the entire DPS populace signed the petition.

Officers from the DPS Criminal Investigation Division, Special Operations, Bike Patrol, Traffic Division, Boating Safety Section, COPPS, and fire division are asking the lawmakers to evaluate the DPS’ current working conditions and the crisis at the department.

Of the problems facing the department, the petitioners said the personnel shortage, vehicle shortage, lack of police and fire uniforms, lack of training logistic, and lack of gears and equipment are but a few of the problems affecting the police force’s ability to perform at the required standards.

The group stressed that the DPS is critically in need of equipment to perform daily missions and responsibilities.

According to the petition, the officers are lacking in support not only professionally but also emotionally, affecting their ability to perform better.