Is a school crime more heinous than a home invasion?

by Krystal Paco

Guam - From a legal opinion, Bill 280 better known as the Safer Schools Act of 2014, raises some red flags. As Chief Deputy Attorney General Phil Tydingco testified this morning, he questions if committing a crime at a school is more heinous than that if one's home was invaded by a burglar.

"Right now the statute provides for a minimum mandatory five years when someone burglarizes your home and usually our castle is sacrosanct and if the policy is that schools are sacrosanct then very well. We just wanted to pose that question to you folks as policy makers that increasing the penalties for the school would appear to put it above the invasion or burglarizing of our homes," he said.

We should note, schools islandwide continue to be hit by vandals daily. Most recently, two minors ages 10 and 15 were taken into custody in connection with burglaries to Marshal Sablan Elementary School in Agat.