KOROR (Island Times/Pacnews) — Palau’s President Surangel Whipps Jr. will appoint a non-Palauan as director of the Bureau of Public Safety, a position held by Ishmael Aguon until he was terminated earlier this month.
During a Senate hearing, Palau Vice President and Minister of Justice Uduch Sengebau-Senior said Whipps is looking for a new public safety chief with the requisite expertise and “no connection to anyone” in Palau.
“We all have heard what people say is happening at the police station. Your ticket will not reach the Office of the Attorney General if you have a relative or friend there. It’s an open secret. There’s a culture within the police force of protecting each other,” Sengebau-Senior said.
This is why the president is “looking outside of Palau” for a new director of public safety, she added.
“We need to change public perception and restore trust and integrity” in the police force, Sengebau-Senior said.
In the meantime, Sengebau-Senior is the acting director of public safety.
For his part, President Whipps also re-hired the former chief of the Criminal Investigation Division, Richard Ngiratrang, as the new deputy director of public safety.
Moreover, in response to the incidents at the Department of Corrections involving allegations that a juvenile inmate was sexually assaulted by an adult inmate, breaches of conduct by Corrections officers, and the stabbing death of an inmate, changes have also been implemented in recent months.
These include transferring division chiefs to other areas so they can get “cross-trained.”
Some senators, however, criticized the “sudden” transfer of division chiefs “without good communications and training plans in place, especially for specialized areas of law enforcement.”
Chief Favian Ngiramengior of the Division of Corrections told the senators that they received their orders to “change” divisions a day after the plan was announced. He said although he wished they had more time to discuss the proposal, they did not make an issue out of it to maintain peace and security.
Sengebau-Senior said in addition to the shortage of police officers, the limited education of law enforcement officers is also a major concern.
She said of the 300-plus police officers, only two have master’s degrees; one has a bachelor’s degree; while others have associate degrees or high school diplomas.
Sengebau-Senior said they are working with Palau Community College in implementing a program that will allow officers to obtain a college degree.
She said 11 officers have already signed up for the program.
Surangel Whipps Jr.
