Police shortage results in lower number of arrests

The manpower shortage at the Department of Public Safety has resulted in a lesser number of juvenile offenders being arrested and referred for probation, according to the Division of Youth Services.

DYS juvenile probation supervisor Sylvio Ada said the decreasing number of juvenile arrest reflected in the number of youth offenders being referred to the division’s juvenile probation unit.

DYS statistics showed that some 277 youth offenders were referred to the JPU in 2004, slightly increasing from 2003’s total of 272.

Ada noted, however, that those figures dropped significantly when compared to JPU referrals in the previous years. From 1998 to 2002, more than 400 youth offenders were referred to the JPU annually, Ada said. DYS statistics reported the number of JPU referrals at 403 in 1998; 429, 1999; 472, 2000; 485, 2001; and 479, 2002.

Out of the 277 juvenile probationers in 2004, those who committed theft totaled 21, more than three times less the peak number of 76 in 2001. However, the number of youth offenders who were referred to the JPU for burglary and theft increased to 28 in 2004, the highest in the last seven years, except for the 2001 total of 33. Those who violated the curfew regulation totaled 36 in 2004, more than three times less than the peak of 117 in 2002.

The DYS and the police department are now working on coordinating their efforts in juvenile law enforcement, with some 35 juvenile probation officers and policemen undergoing a two-day training that ended yesterday.

Some policemen also serve as the department’s school resources officers, who respond to criminal activities usually perpetrated by youth offenders at schools. Many juvenile probationers still attend school, Ada said.

Joe Saures, officer-in-charge for the DPS’ community-oriented police section, said that collaborative effort between the department and the DYS would avoid duplication of work.

“We’re all dealing with juveniles. We should know how to connect,” Saures said.

Saures said SRO’s from Tinian and Rota also joined the Juvenile Law Enforcement Training at the Hyatt Regency Saipan, which was also attended by representatives from the Community Guidance Center and the Workforce Investment Agency to share their respective juvenile expertise.