CID, Traffic Section offices transfer to renovated prison

The Department of Public Safety has transformed the former Department of Corrections’ Residential Substance Abuse Treatment Minimum Security in Susupe into the new offices of the Criminal Investigation Division and Traffic Section.

Detectives and traffic officers started occupying the former RSAT Minimum Security, located behind the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, late October 2008.

The officers volunteered their time to paint and clean up the former jail. They also removed some metal items like chairs and tables to convert the former detention facility into spacious offices.

Yesterday morning, DPS had Fr. Jessie Reyes bless the building.

In an interview with Saipan Tribune after the blessing, acting CID commander Sgt. Sylvan Rangamar said they are very happy to have new offices.

Rangamar said they are very thankful to Superior Court presiding judge Robert C. Naraja, who assisted them in getting one side of the building.

He said the Probation Office may likely occupy the other wing of the building soon.

Rangamar said that funds used for the transfer came from local sources and were used mostly to purchase paints because CID and Traffic personnel volunteered their time to do the renovation work.

Rangamar said that working in the former Superior Court building where CID and Traffic Section used to hold offices was very hazardous.

“You got concrete falling down on the floor, you got leaks, you got problems with electrical,” he said.

The CID acting chief noted that even the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. could not pinpoint as to which of the buildings in the former Superior Court triggered the explosion of a transformer a few months ago.

The former RSAT Minimum Facility is owned by the local courts and DOC under a memorandum of understanding. The facility used to be occupied by those arrested for driving while under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs and for those arrested for small claims.

The building had been idle for four to five months after DOC transferred all inmates from the old DOC facility to the new building in Susupe.

He said the idea to transfer had been in the works since Claudio K. Norita was the DPS commissioner.

“We talked to the commissioner [Santiago Tudela] that we have to move out of here and get an office to get the guys working,” Rangamar said.

He said they started renovating the facility last October and that it took them two weeks to complete their work. After the renovation, DPS had to wait for the telephone company to move in and start putting in the wires for the phones.