DPS wants more police cars for Tinian
The Department of Public Safety is planning to provide two more police vehicles for the island-municipality of Tinian and carry out improvements in the detention center there.
Despite limited budget, the department will try to look for funds to accommodate the request of Tinian local government for additional police cars. There are two police vehicles on Tinian right now but only one is in good condition to service the community.
DPS Commissioner Charles W. Ingram met with local police officers on Tinian to discuss the problem. DPS turned over a 31 ft. boat to Tinian police force to augment its search operations.
DPS is facing a problem with its patrol car operations for FY 2000 after the budget for car lease has been reduced from $1.1 million to just over $800,000.
The Office of Budget and Management has also drastically reduced the department’s budget for fuel to $18,000 for the next fiscal year from the current appropriation of $147,000.
DPS burns approximately $13,000 worth of fuel every month. The department’s leases for its fleet of patrol cars will expire in December 1999.
Ingram said he is in favor of purchasing patrol cars for the agency instead of merely leasing the current fleet of vehicles because it will save DPS a huge amount of money in the long-run.
However, any plan to purchase will not be carried out in the next fiscal year because it is not included in the department’s budget. Maintenance of the vehicles can be contracted out since it will be cheaper for the department instead of hiring mechanics to do the job, Ingram said.
With the increase in burglary incidents on the island, DPS needs to acquire more police cars to patrol the villages of Saipan, Tinian and Rota. Currently, patrol cars are running 13 to 16 hours rotation which takes toll on the vehicles. Without proper maintenance and supplies to cover the wear and tear, DPS will have lesser vehicles on the streets and more in the junk yard.
