Department of Public Safety

Mr. Patrick Carl
Director

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY

The Department of Public Safety shall include the Division of Police and Security, the Division of Correction and Rehabilitation, the Division of Fish and Wildlife and the Division of Fire and Emergency Services. The Department of Public Safety shall be headed by a director. The Department shall be responsible for the safeguarding and protecting the lives and property of the people of Pohnpei, keeping the peace, and assuring compliance with all applicable laws.

The Department shall be responsible for conducting all internal affairs investigations for the Uniformed Divisions of the Department of Public Safety. The Department shall also be responsible for training and supervision of all the personnel in the Department. The Department shall have the following divisions:

Division of Police and Security

The Division shall be headed by the Chief of Police and Security and in addition to or to complement the functions, duties and responsibilities as set out the Police and Security Act of 1999, the Division shall be responsible for the maintenance of public safety and security for the State of Pohnpei. The Division shall establish, train, equip and maintain a professional force of police officers and related staff to protect the lives and property of all persons within the jurisdiction of Pohnpei; for serving court processes and documents; locating persons or property, conducting interviews; locating and retrieving records and logistic support functions; for controlling traffic, registering vehicles, licensing and educating drivers; and to maintain peace and order.

The Division shall establish, train, equip and maintain a uniformed force of police officers for the prevention of crime, to detect criminal activity, to respond to the occurrence of crime and to apprehend criminal offenders. The Division shall establish, train, equip and maintain a cadre of detectives drawn from its ranks whose responsibility shall be the investigation of crime and gathering and preservation of evidence.The Division shall establish, train, equip and maintain a drug enforcement unit. The Division shall establish, train, equip and maintain a criminal identification and records unit to establish, operate and maintain a comprehensive identification and records system on all criminal offenders. The Division shall establish and maintain a repository for the Micronesian Region of Law Enforcement and Drug Enforcement data and information for the Council of Micronesian Chief Executives. The Division shall undertake efforts to educate the community, particularly the youth of Pohnpei about drug abuse, crime and delinquency.

Division of Correction and Rehabilitation

The Division of Correction and Rehabilitation shall be headed by the Chief of Corrections and Rehabilitation and shall have the following responsibilities: The Division shall be responsible for the physical custody, care and treatment of all persons lawfully detained awaiting trial by order of a court of proper jurisdiction, or sentenced to a term of imprisonment by such a court, or whose custody has been transferred to the State of Pohnpei pursuant to a cooperative agreement with another State in the Federated States of Micronesia pursuant to Agreement on Execution on Penal Sentences of the Compact of Free Association, all persons arrested or detained as suspects by police or peace officers; and juveniles arrested or detained by police or peace officers as suspects in criminal activity or sentenced to a term of detention pursuant to a finding of delinquency by a court of proper jurisdiction.

The Division shall establish and maintain adequate services and facilities to provide for the care, treatment, food, lodging and physical security of inmates, and detainees, including women prisoners and detainees as well as juvenile offenders. The Division shall establish, train, equip and maintain a professional force of corrections officers and related staff to provide for the care, treatment and security of inmates and detainees and the physical security of all facilities operated by the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The Division shall develop and implement corrective and rehabilitative programs, including educational and vocational training, for inmates, which shall prepare them for their eventual return to society to help prevent further criminal activity. The Division shall establish programs and activities which allow the prisoners to be productive while serving their sentence. The Division shall establish and implement a system of policies, procedures, rules and regulations for administering all custodial facilities operated by the Division in a manner which achieves both order and security, and the humane treatment of prisoners.

Division of Fire and Emergency Services

The Division shall be headed by a Chief of Fire and tasked with the following responsibilities: The Division shall be responsible for fire suppression, safety, coordination of search and rescue missions and disaster preparedness, coordination of response; relief and control from natural and man-made disasters; Provide professional training to existing officers, so they can act as first responders in cases of fire, disaster and medical emergency; Establish fire prevention programs to educate the public on the hazards of uncontrolled fires, and the methods for responding to fires; Conduct and coordinate search and rescue operations, and cooperate with search and rescue agencies of other states, the Government of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Government of the United States of America and its agencies, and any other regional governments or search and rescue agencies, in developing plans and programs, and mutual aid agreements for search and rescue activities within the state of Pohnpei. Authorized and directed to provide, in coordination with other agencies of the FSM National Government, Pohnpei State, and the Local Governments, first response services to fire emergencies and disasters and; May enter into contracts with the Department of Health Services to provide qualified staff for ambulances and other first response services. Should you have questions or need detail information, please feel free to contact us at 320-3910 or 320-2221/2

Regulations

The Department of Public Safety may prescribe and enforce safety regulations for the operation of commercial vehicles and require a periodic inspection of the equipment of every commercial vehicle from the standpoint of enforcement of safety regulations. Such equipment shall be at all times subject to inspection by properly authorized representatives of the Department of Public Safety.

Relate to the contact info below for more information and questions.

Tel: (691)320-3910
email: publicsafety@mail.fm

Division Chiefs