CK office fed up with delinquency in area

The Office of the Saipan Mayor’s youth programs coordinator alerted authorities yesterday to a “serious” juvenile delinquency problem in Chalan Kanoa as she reported that the Mayor’s extension office was burglarized again over the weekend.

“It’s a major problem [juvenile delinquency]. We have a lot of delinquent kids in this area,” according to Olinka C. Chaudhry, youth programs coordinator for the Office of the Mayor.

“It’s horrible! I think it’s disgusting!” said Chaudhry who is holding office at the Mayor’s Extension Office in Chalan Kanoa District 3.

Chaudhry, in an interview with Saipan Tribune, disclosed that on Monday morning they discovered that their office, formerly called Mayor’s Youth Learning Center, had been burglarized again.

She said the items stolen included an entire computer set, a set of bench drill equipment, a portable AM/FM radio with cassette player, a wall telephone, and some fresh Bajogo seeds.

The burglar or burglars damaged the air-conditioner and master padlock from the side building’s main gate. The deadbolt lock, along with the doorknob, was also ripped off.

The total damage and costs of the stolen items was estimated at $2,938.

It was Chaudhry’s co-worker who discovered the break-in when he reported to work Monday morning and observed that the southern side of the office was broken.

The burglar or burglars managed to get inside the office through the south side of the building.

The suspect or suspects broke the padlock from the outside grill door and damaged the deadbolt lock, then forcibly opened the door.

The suspects pushed one of the air-conditioners, in an attempt to steal it. As a result, the air-conditioner is now not working, Chaudhry said.

She said she had used the computer for three years and that all her files were in there.

The youth programs coordinator recalled that on Oct. 30, 2006, someone attempted to break into the office by removing the screws on the window shutters at the corner window of the building.

In January or February 2006 burglars also broke into the office and stole ukuleles for the children that were purchased through federal funds.

Chaudhry said that at night the building is dark because kids would throw rocks at the bulbs put up by Mayor Juan B. Tudela.

The wall outside the building is also filled with graffiti.

“I don’t know how many times the mayor painted the building. We lost our appetite for repainting it. We’re just wasting money here,” Chaudhry said

She said they open the office after school only when there is a project for the children because when the kids come “there’s too much trouble, they fight each other.”

“These kids are not taking care of their facility,” lamented Chaudhry, who has been in the office for three years now. “I’m tired and I am fed up!” she added.

The coordinator suggested that a budget should be allocated to install a security alarm system in the building that is directly connected to the Department of Public Safety.

She said that before, rocks would be thrown, shattering the glass windows, prompting the mayor to install the shutters.

“Grill doors were also put up, but again they [burglars] also broke the padlock,” Chaudhry said.

She noted that many of the delinquent kids are of various nationalities. The coordinator said parents should keep these children at home and discipline them. She said many parents of these erring juveniles, however, also need counseling and need to get jobs.

“Some kids talk to me that their parents are fighting all the time due to alcohol. One grandmother would drop a child here just to play poker,” she said.

Chaudhry said she always tell the kids that if they come to the facility they must do projects and not just lie on the couch because the place is not for baby-sitting.

She said that Parks and Recreation personnel would clean up the basketball court, but two days later trash would be all over the place again because some juveniles who stay in the area at night just leave their garbage.