DPS needs more money
For years, the Department of Public Safety is the mouth wash of every Tom, Dick and Harry whose expectations of performance by this agency are higher than the twinkling stars in the galaxy above.
We want downright professional handling of every complaint often insistent that performance be as swift as police officers we see in television. Very few have even had the inkling of the difference in “made for television” police programs and the daily dangerous reality of police work out in the streets.
Perhaps the “complaint culture” has become an integral part of the indigenous community further refined to the extent where we’re all critical instant analysts of everything, including the failure to acknowledge that the travails of DPS have been well neglected lonstanding issues. We want cadillac performance when we can afford a smaller four cylinder vehicle.
The substantial decline in revenue generation has also brought to prominence the performance of every critical department in the Northern Marianas. While these vital agencies wish to carry-out their fiduciary duties with less for more, the reality of revenue decline has its own very limiting effects on performance. As such, the role of key employees is usually stretched-out to the limits and rather than dishing them a dosage of arrogance, we should in fact praise them for taking the extra mile to fulfill their duties with less for more.
As DPS struggles with long ignored needs, it juggles funds to meet the general public’s expectations often with minimal results. We list their proposed budget in the tertiary level convinced that they can muddle through as we funnel more money to pet projects. We are out of focused on priorities and understandably so because we have politicians who also place greater importance on their re-election than doing what is most appropriate for the entire Northern Marianas Community.
Finally, one must admit that the NMI has looked the other way when DPS presents fully justified budget package for legislative review. Through the years, the tiny neglect on the part of leadership has piled up in much the same way as the Puerto Rico Dump that is now taller than ultra-modern offices before it. It’s time to realistically address and resolve a longstanding problem to which local leadership played a key role in turning the department into a dysfunctional government agency. Si Yuus Maase`!
