HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — The spike in violent crimes can be attributed mostly to drugs, according to Guam Police Department Chief Stephen Ignacio.
Police on Jan. 11 find drugs inside a car that was reported stolen. The chief of the Guam Police Department is renewing efforts to have the island declared a high-intensity drug trafficking area by the federal government.
“Unfortunately, we have a drug issue, and we just need to slowly chip away as much as we can with it,” said Ignacio. “I think if we look at what is causing a lot of the crime on the island, all roads lead back to it.”
Ignacio mat recently with the FBI to get support for a renewed application for Guam to be designated a high-intensity drug trafficking area or HIDTA by the Office of National Drug Control Policy.
Another application is expected to be sent out soon, he said.
“Whether it’s a breakdown in the family structure, a breakdown in our community with crimes being committed, all roads lead to our drug issue. We just have to get people off drugs, whether it’s through enforcement, education or treatment,” Ignacio told The Guam Daily Post.
Guam was denied its application in 2019 after an independent panel determined the petition did not demonstrate:
• The island to be “a significant center of illegal drug production, manufacturing or importation.”
• That local resources have been committed to respond to the trafficking problem.
• That drug-related activities have a significant harmful impact in the area.
• That a significant increase in federal resources was needed to respond to the issue.
A HIDTA designation should provide several advantages and resources to Guam, including additional intelligence about incoming cargo, as importation is the most significant source of drugs on island.
But the primary focus of HIDTA designation is drug interdiction, the disruption of drug trafficking, intelligence sharing and training,” the Guam Attorney General’s Office stated last year.
‘Guam is safe’
Drug arrests are made almost daily in Guam, according to the magistrate complaints filed in the Superior Court of Guam.
As many in the community are noticing the rise in violent crimes being committed across the island, Ignacio said he echoed a previous sentiment made by Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero on the state of the island.
“Guam is safe,” he said. “We’ve hired 70 police officers. We continue to hire. When you hire and put more officers out on the street then you are making the community safer. We are hiring retirees now and bringing law enforcement together to help out. We are doing our part to keep our community safe.”
But he admits the community plays an important role in that effort.
“We can’t go at this alone. GPD can’t solve all of our island’s problems, especially when we are dealing with drugs. It takes all of us as a community to get our family members and friends off drugs,” he said. “The more people get on drugs, they are going to need an outlet to get the money to buy the drugs. That’s what is causing the crime.”