“PERSONNEL processing challenges” have delayed the police academy, Department of Public Safety Commissioner Clement Bermudes said.
“We have announced the police officer positions…and now we have the eligibility list of individuals that have applied…and those on the list are the people that the police department will further look into and consider for hiring. With that said, we will be processing those applicants, so that we can hopefully start the academy between January and March 2024,” he said.
“The police academy will reenergize and give DPS an opportunity to regroup…because my fear is overworking our officers — that’s one of the concerns I have coming in…. DPS currently has 168 uniformed sworn officers. But if we can have 250 total police officers…that will allow officers to refresh, have actual time for themselves,” he added.
“We are looking to hire a total of 30 [new] police officers, 25 on Saipan, and five for Rota and Tinian,” Bermudes said.
DPS, he added, is working with Northern Marianas College to ensure that the police cadets obtain college credits.
He noted that some police officers are also pursuing degree courses at NMC.
“I am allowing that because a more trained, educated workforce is a good service for the community. What better way to invest in the officers than to give them the time to go to college and study. I don’t see that as a negative in reaching for DPS’s goal of a safer community,” Bermudes said.
BMV
As for the sentencing of former Bureau of Motor Vehicles Director Juana Leon Guerrero to five years imprisonment, Bermudes said, “We are rebuilding the trust with our community.”
Leon Guerrero was involved in a scheme to provide CNMI licenses to individuals who did not have lawful U.S. immigration status.
“I have placed an acting director there since the former director left the department,” Bermudes said. “One of the things he has instituted is a system to ensure that everyone obtaining a license is properly documented. There is no longer an exemption to that. That’s one way we have addressed some of those concerns: ensuring we get proper documentation and I’m very confident with Chief Paul Ogumoro as the acting director at BMV.”
According to Bermudes, “There is a large population of foreign workers who hold CW-1 visas and have obtained driver’s licenses. Previously, they needed only to show a CW-1 receipt to obtain a license. With a new system in place, DPS will verify the validity of those receipts to ensure these individuals really do have pending CW-1 visa applications. Even then, CW-1 visa holders will only be issued temporary CNMI-only licenses that will be valid for just one year.”
He added, “We have CW-1 workers who have pending applications with [U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services], and they may have families here and may be the only driver in their family. That was our concern. We have allowed and authorized those who have pending validated cases [to] be issued a temporary, CNMI-only driver’s license which will be valid for up to one year.”
“We can’t penalize people because they’re waiting for an application and, at the same time, we can’t have them put on hold family business like driving kids to school, going grocery shopping, [or] driving family members to work,” Bermudes said.
Clement Bermudes
