Guam Police Department Chief Stephen Ignacio speaks at the Rotary Club of Northern Guam meeting at the Hilton Guam Resort & Spa in Tumon on Wednesday, May 3, 2023.
HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — Guam Police Department Chief Stephen Ignacio doesn’t think a bill that proposes caning defendants convicted of violent crimes is “proper.”
On Wednesday, Ignacio was invited to be the guest speaker for the Rotary Club of Northern Guam at the Hilton Guam Resort & Spa to discuss crimes committed by youth at the club’s monthly meeting.
After explaining the ways GPD has been helping ensure the island’s youth don’t fall into a life of crime, Ignacio took questions from Rotarians, one of which involved the old-school ways of disciplining children, such as physical punishment.
Ignacio was asked for his thoughts on Bill 21-37, which, if passed, would authorize corporal punishment by way of judicial caning for defendants convicted of violent crimes.
“Honestly, I don’t think the caning is proper,” Ignacio said, recognizing it’s the first time he has addressed the measure, proposed by Sen. Dwayne San Nicolas in January.
“I applaud Sen. San Nicolas for at least coming up with this radical idea, but it does go against the grain, and I don’t think it’s a proper way to deal with it,” Ignacio said. “I definitely don’t support it.”
Last month, a public hearing was held for Bill 21 in which members of the legal community, including the Office of the Attorney General and former police Chief Fred Bordallo also opposed the measure.
Despite the negative responses, San Nicolas was undeterred as he backed the measure and stated if it didn’t become law, he would find another way to address the crime wave on the island.
Youth outreach
For the majority of Ignacio’s presentation to Rotarians, he discussed ways police have been responding to youth offenses. One effort in particular is enforcing curfew, following a request from Attorney General Douglas Moylan.
“We’ve been going out these past couple of weeks, and we’ve been doing night operations. … We’re just trying to get out there and see if there’s any issues with curfew violators and doing the correct enforcement. … We’ve been driving around the streets, especially in pockets of areas … (in) Dededo village or the Harmon industrial park,” Ignacio explained.
“We’re focusing our attention on what we can do to get these children back home or hold the parents accountable should they be out way past curfew time,” Ignacio added.
He also discussed the closure of three investigations related to break-ins at Wettengel Elementary School.
Ignacio said GPD is part of longer-term efforts to positively influence children on Guam through its summer camp, Project U, and reestablishing the Junior Police Cadet program, in which participants can learn from and be mentored by officers.
“We talk about mental health and long-term mental wellness because these kids are open to different types of exposure, especially with their phone,” Ignacio said. “There’s a lot of social media influence, and so we talk to them about suicide awareness and prevention, … vaping, … drug and substance abuse.”
