All inmates finally moved to new prison

The Department of Corrections has finally and successfully moved all inmates to the state-of-the-art prison in Susupe. DOC now faces a big problem—manpower shortage.

In an interview with the Saipan Tribune yesterday, DOC Commissioner Lino S. Tenorio said they were able to transfer all 131 inmates to the new prison on July 10.

Tenorio said their main problem now is the lack of manpower. Six Corrections officers recently resigned and two other members of the U.S. Army Reserve were deployed to Iraq and for training in Guam.

He said the transfer to the Vicente Taman Seman Memorial Building took 10 to 12 hours and required 40 Corrections officers.

All 131 inmates—civil detainees, the criminally charged and DUI (driving while under the influence of alcohol) offenders—were moved to the new building.

“I feel very relieved that we were able to make the transition very smoothly. I was somewhat skeptical at first that things would work out fine. I was actually thinking of the worst case scenario that might happen when it comes to safety and security,” Tenorio said.

The commissioner was worried that any of the prisoners might create problems by refusing to adhere to instructions.

He also feared that inmates’ family members would disrupt the process.

“The good thing about it is that we tried to keep it as quiet as possible. Nobody actually knew when the movement was going to happen except for myself and the director,” Tenorio said.

The commissioner said that DOC currently employs 85 to 87 Corrections officers. To effectively run the department, 25 more officers are required, he added.

With the shortage, current DOC officers are forced to render overtime.

“Because of the way we are running this facility, we need at least to have a total of 19 officers on a shift schedule,” Tenorio said.

This is because “in this new facility we have some specialized units. That’s why we need to have officers to be detailed to those kind of special programs,” he said.

DOC currently has three shifts. There are a total of 22 officers on a shift, which makes for a total of 66 officers. Ten more officers are currently assigned to the administration office to handle other duties and responsibilities.

“On top of that we need to assign officers to do the special escorts, to court run, doing the hospital run, and some special projects that are deemed necessary by the Governor’s Office,” he added.

The new prison officially opened in February. Construction on the 100,000 square-foot lot in Susupe started in 2002. The first target opening date was in 2006. Contractual issues delayed the opening.

During the opening ceremony, DOC officials said the inmates and detainees will be transferred from the old detention center to the new building “in the coming weeks.”

The target transfer date to the new facility was later set for the end of April 2008. Frequent power outages broke five of the building’s nine air-conditioning compressors.

A consent decree forged by the CNMI and the U.S. Department of Justice mandated the construction of the new building following DOJ’s discovery of the old building’s deplorable conditions.

The new building is capable of housing 396 inmates and detainees.

Tenorio had previously described DOC as a “City within a City” due to its possession of a private water supply through its salt water wells. The facility produces potable water via reverse osmosis.

The facility is equipped with an emergency back-up generator along with work stations for medical and mental health personnel and counselors, as well as a kitchen.

The facility also contains one and a half basketball courts, as well as a small gym with bodybuilding and fitness equipment.

DOC estimates that the project amounted to $20.9 million.