Central Guam residents sound off at town hall about escalating crime

One by one – community members stepped up the microphone to let Guam Police Department leaders, the attorney general, and the legislative oversight chair of public safety know there’s a problem that remains unsolved in their neighborhoods -- crime. 

"It seem likes every time we do arrest somebody, they plea out or they are repeat offenders or they go out and offend again and it’s so frustrating as a member of this community to see that there is so many deals being cut," Mr. Leon Guerrero said. "If the question is we don’t have enough prison then build another prison."

He joined others at a town hall meeting Thursday at the Tamuning Senior Center. 

"Whether it be deputizing people or educating people that we are going to get tough on these people that if they do commit a crime that we are going to come crashing down on you," another resident, Mr. Cruz said. "I don’t like to see people go to jail, go to court, and get all these problems and now their family don’t have food on their tables…but there’s got to be something done. It’s getting too out of hand."

The issue expanding further than just in the Tamuning area.

 

GPD Sgt. Paul Tapao says it's important to build the island’s trust with the police force.

"I think we can see a reduction of crimes reported and of course a better understanding in the community but we all know that is going to take time," he said. "It’s a work in progress and there is a lot of work ahead of us. But if we continue to stay the course and move forward, I am pretty sure we can accomplish a lot of things if we work together." 

The shortage of officers was also highlighted.

The central residents weren't the only ones airing their concerns. 

"If we don’t have the manpower then we really got to work on using what little manpower we have, person power, and putting them in the right places," Sen. Chris Barnett said. "Just baseline, I feel our community is under siege."

Attorney General Doug Moylan said, "Guam has a problem with getting people into the government, into the police officers positions and those sorts of things. It cannot be an excuse because the more cops on the streets, the more cops walking the schools, the more cops in the malls. The police presence by itself is a deterrence. When people see officers in the community then you are going to get less crime."

Officials say GPD has a police cycle underway with more potential recruits expected in the coming months.