‘All but one patrol car now working’

Except for one, all police patrol cars are now working to ensure high police visibility on the streets of Saipan, according to two top officials of the Department of Public Safety.

DPS commissioner Rebecca Warfield and acting police director Capt. Pete Guerrero said 13 patrol cars are running on the streets and one that was recently placed at a repair shop is just waiting for parts to arrive.

Warfield disclosed the condition of DPS patrol vehicles in her speech during Wednesday’s meeting of the Saipan Chamber of Commerce at the Saipan Grand Hotel.

The commissioner recalled that shortly after she came on board at DPS, she noticed some police officers just sitting in the dispatch room because they didn’t have cars.

Believing that a car is a necessity to a police officer, Warfield said she told the officers they need to fix the cars.

“ But when I said that, they didn’t understand that I meant today. They say, ‘Oh, eventually the cars will be fixed’ and they went away. When they came back, I said, ‘So, where are the cars?’ And they’re like, ‘What do you mean?’ The cars, the cars need to be fixed! ‘Oh you mean today?’ Yes, yes, the cars need to be fixed today!” said the commissioner, drawing laughter from Chamber members.

After that, Warfield said the police officers’ attitude started to change and the momentum within the department began to change.

“People began to get a little enthusiastic that things were… someone expected something to be done immediately. Now all our patrol cars are working. This is the first time in years. Some of those cars had to be towed to the repair shop to be fixed,” she said.

Warfield said that service to the community can’t be provided if the officers don’t have vehicles.

In an interview with Saipan Tribune yesterday, Capt. Guerrero said that six patrol cars used to be in the repair shop because they were either waiting for parts or there was a lack of funding.

The acting police director said car repair was a major problem before because there’s a lot of restrictions or funding situation faced by the previous administrations.

“It’s faster now because our commissioner really pushes it. She’s also been talking with the administration and the Legislature for help,” he said.

Guerrero added that DPS personnel are very happy that the commissioner is concentrating “on the backbone of the department which is the patrol officers, the uniformed officers who are out on the streets.”