WHEN asked about illegal drug use within the Department of Public Safety and drug trafficking in the community, newly confirmed DPS Commissioner Clement Bermudes said he is addressing the issue aggressively.
“Part of the accountability is ensuring that there’s no drug use within the department,” he said in an interview. “Because that is a major concern in the community and it’s a concern for me. We cannot earn the trust of the community if we’re not showing any respect to the community, and that somehow, we’re above the law.”
“We are not above the law,” he added. “We are here to enforce the law and to ensure the safety and security of the community by enforcing those laws properly and inappropriately.”
He said through a partnership with federal law enforcement, the CNMI Drug Enforcement Task Force and DPS are aggressively going after drug traffickers.
“We’re aggressively going after those that are in the act of distributing drugs out there. We appreciate and encourage our community to report those people. Also when it comes to the department, illegal drugs don’t have any business with officers. Drug [use] will deteriorate the trust that we have built with the community,” Bermudes said.
DPS conducts random drug tests, he added.
“They’re truly random. We randomly select officers that will report to wherever they’re told for testing, and you know they have to follow orders, and it’s an order. We need to be accountable to the community,” Bermudes said.
