About 900 crimes had been reported to DPS from January this year until yesterday.
Crime statistics released by DPS in December last year showed the number of crimes rising to 2,010 from 1,910 in 2008.
These crimes included burglary, theft, and robbery.
“We’ve got a problem in the CNMI. Crimes are pretty much rising,” Sgt. Paul Ogumoro, the department’s chief of the Criminal Investigation Bureau, told the Saipan Chamber of Commerce yesterday.
“We may have more,” Ogumoro said, referring to the unreported cases.
To address the “weak links” in the sea and airports as well as postal mail, which are potential entry points of “ice,” Ogumoro said the department has strengthened its narcotics operations and shared intelligence information with other authorities.
Chamber president Doug Brennan assured the cooperation of the business community.
Ogumoro joined Sgt. Joe Saures, officer-in-charge of the Community Oriented Policing Section, and DPS spokesman PO2 Eric David, in discussions regarding the crime situation and prevention in the CNMI.
Superior Court Associate Judge David A. Wiseman, who was the chamber’s main guest speaker, discussed “Criminal Laws, Prosecution, and Sentencing: A Judicial Perspective.”
The DPS officers underscored the importance of the community’s participation in crime prevention and solution.
“The public should be vigilant. Let’s watch out for each other. Be nosy,” Ogumoro said.
People should call the police if they see or observe shady characters in the community, he added.
“This is what the people are not doing,” he said.
Citing shortage in manpower, infrastructure and facilities, Ogumoro said DPS has adopted the “solvability factor” in investigating crimes.
He assured the business community and the public that the department is doing its best in resolving cases and in preventing them.
Saures, for his part, said the COPS program has been successfully implemented in Garapan’s tourist area and in Kagman.
COPS is also collaborating with the Neighborhood Watch Task Force while bike patrols have been intensified in the tourist area, he added.
He said enforcement of underage drinking, curfew hour, and sobriety checks are being monitored.
The DPS has 108 officers of whom 21 are assigned with CIB, including four crime scene technicians.
Thirty-eight police recruits are undergoing training.
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