Sen. Paul Manglo\u00f1a (Ind-Rota) has urged both House of Representatives and Senate committees handling the judicial and governmental operations to conduct a legislative oversight on the Department of Public Safety.<\/p>\n
In a letter dated Nov. 7, 2017, Manglo\u00f1a told the committees that the recent spate of unsolved crimes, missing persons, and rampant drug use necessitates the oversight hearing to find out what DPS is up to.<\/p>\n
Manglo\u00f1a said that DPS has failed to communicate with victims of crimes, which he said is unacceptable because DPS has the \u201ccritical role of protecting people and ensuring people\u2019s safety.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVictims of criminal activities are complaining that their cases have not been solved and they haven\u2019t received any information or updates from DPS,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Manglona\u2019s letter was addressed to House Judiciary and Governmental Operations Committee chair Rep. Ivan A. Blanco (R-Rota) and Senate Judiciary, Government, and Law Committee chair Sen. Steve Mesngon (R-Rota).<\/p>\n
Both lawmakers have yet to respond to Manglona\u2019s letter.<\/p>\n
Saipan Tribune archives show that a total of 17 people have been reported missing since 1995 and not one has been found.<\/p>\n
Manglona also cited reports of drug abuse and drug-related crimes in the community to call for the oversight hearing on DPS.<\/p>\n
He said that drug use and abuse have \u201csignificantly increased\u201d over the \u201cpast few years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a widespread drug abuse problem on Saipan, Tinian, and Rota. People are losing their jobs, their families, and some even their lives due to drug use and abuse,\u201d he said, adding that even \u201cgood men and women in law enforcement\u201d have lost their jobs after testing positive for illegal drug use.<\/p>\n
Gov. Ralph DLG Torres earlier said he is \u201cgenuinely concerned\u201d about public safety, and was already initiating discussions to address these concerns.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be clear, no one in our closely-knit community deserves to feel unsafe or feel less secure in their homes or villages,\u201d said press secretary Kevin Bautista, adding that Torres is in talks with DPS, the Attorney General\u2019s Office, and the public to \u201censure that our island community\u2026will be safer for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
Separately, Rep. Edwin K. Propst, (Ind-Saipan) had criticized DPS in a social media post and recommended that DPS Commissioner Robert Guerrero update the public on what\u2019s going on.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe public has a ton of questions and we are getting no statements and no answers,\u201d said Propst. \u201cHe needs to give us some direction, some advice, [anything].\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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