Tinian DPS struggles with manpower shortage
The Tinian Department of Public Safety is making do with only 13 police officers for its seven sections.
Tinian DPS director Juan Santos told Saipan Tribune yesterday that they are experiencing a manpower shortage as the Tinian DPS currently has only 13 police officers, down from 17 back in 2015.
That’s only 13 officers for the department’s seven sections.
“To tell you the truth, we have been struggling with manpower,” he said in a phone interview.
Santos is proud of the officers because some of them have two to three assignments.
“One officer would be my patrol shift supervisor while at the same time doing the sexual offender registry and juvenile,” he said.
Some of those who left the department just wanted to relocate to the U.S. mainland.
“They didn’t do anything wrong,” he said.
Santos disclosed that five police cadets from Tinian will be joining the police academy on Saipan starting this Monday, March 13.
“It’s going to help me big time,” said Santos.
The five prospective additional officers would give Tinian the momentum to move forward, after the police academy’s graduation before or after this August, he said.
He still intends, however, to keep asking for more officers in the budget.
This “relocating to the mainland” is so common especially from Tinian. In the past, much was due to the conditions within the DPS (and FD) as the drugs are rampant along with the ‘system’ such as favoritism and ongoing family issues that go along political lines within the Dept..
Unfortunately usually the smartest, capable and best of the cops are the ones that leave and get jobs with mainland police forces after undergoing “real” police training in the US within the PD they will serve in. (many other transfer to Saipan)
There was also a very few numbers that leave due to their criminal activities (mostly drugs) that has the Feds closing in on them.
(I have had many cop friends that have left over the years)
Tinian has 3 elected Senators and 1 representative. They are all allocated nearly 5k a month each. Director Santos why don’t you has each elected official from Tinian to give up their mothly “free money” allotment? That would give your agency almost 20k a month. That should be enough to hire 6 to 8 police officers. But I know those greedy elected officials would rather see your island burn to the ground than to give that money up. Elected officials from Tinian why don’t you please give up your free money for just 1 year? Help your people and your community. Just for 1 year. I know it will be a big sacrifice for you elected officials becuase its hard to live a good life without tax payers money. Beside you guys get paid to do nothing anyways. Look at your island? What happen to your casino industry? Your Titanic? Just incase you elected officials never went to high school the Titanic sunk on its maiden voyage. Just like the island of Tinian, you elected officials there are sinking your island. So what happen to Alter City? I guess you guys milk them so much already they are changing their name to Alternate City.
Why do Tinian and Rota always think they need so many police officers. Many areas in the US with much bigger populations and more square miles of coverage do with a lot less. Maybe they just need better cross trained policemen and not more policemen.
13 police officers cannot man seven section? That’s 2 officers for each section or worse case scenario 1 per section, so what’s wrong with that? Are there so many misfits that rampant crimes are committed daily there on Tinian necessitating hiring of extra bodies? How about asking mayor San Nicolas to spare a few of his do-nothing boyz to help out with your predicament?