Tumon’s beaches may be world-class, but is the safety net behind them strong enough? With just two officers on beach patrol and rising concerns after a tourist was killed in a robbery last year, lawmakers are sounding the alarm on police staffing in Guam’s tourism capital.

The heart of Guam’s tourism industry is under pressure—and it’s not from the surf or the sun. Tumon, which welcomes thousands of visitors each day, is facing a critical shortage in police staffing.  That’s prompted urgent calls for action from Sen. Chris Barnett, who say just two officers currently assigned to Beach Patrol isn’t enough to keep the area safe.

A letter sent to Chief Stephen Ignacio outlines the growing strain on the Tumon-Tamuning Precinct Command—known as TTPC—which has only 24 officers total, with just one sergeant and one police officer III assigned to patrol the beach at any given time.

"We try to balance the need out. Can we put more officers in Tumon when we get graduates? Absolutely. But don't forget I'm going to be opening a Talofofo precinct . That's probably going to be happening in a year," he said.

Lawmakers are urging the department to consider reallocating resources—suggesting that officers from programs like DARE or student resource officers might be temporarily redirected to high-traffic areas like Tumon, especially during peak hours.

Ignacio saying GPD takes everything into account, noting, "As much as I would like to take the next graduating class and place them in Tumon. How about the rest of the island? I have crime in Dededo, I have crime in Yigo, crime in Barrigada, I woke up this morning and my neighbor was calling me because someone stole her bushcutter. Crime happens in every village, and we do our best to support it."

With safety top of mind for both residents and tourists, Ignacio says proactive planning and tackling the issue at every angle to beef up GPD is being done. "Prior to COVID we had a good campaign going out the schools, UOG, GCC, we'll appear to talk about career pathways, but we're also competing with everyone else. Like customs, guam fire, and that's just public safety. But also a lot of GovGuam talks about personnel shortages," he said.

"It's a tough market out there for police officers."

In the meantime, Ignacio did respond to Sen. Barnett's letter on July 23. A week later, Barnett issued a follow up noting that he will request an informational or oversight hearing with the chair of public safety.