Guam AG calls for enforcement of curfew laws and deportation of “undesirables”

BY OYAOL NGIRAIRIKL
Journal Staff

Attorney General Douglas B. Moylan is reaching out to the Guam Police Department and the Mayors Council of Guam to enforce Guam’s curfew laws, as well as the resumption of deportations of non-U.S. citizens in an effort to curb crime.

In a letter to GPD Chief Stephen Ignacio and Council president Mayor Jesse Alig, Moylan said they’ve been conducting village outreaches during which they noticed an “increase in minors violating Guam’s curfew laws that require minors be at home at night.”

Moylan told the Journal that this effort will help curb crimes against businesses and patrons of those businesses as, unfortunately, it isn’t just adults who commit crimes.

“The kids (teens) are the ones who are being seen doing a lot of the crimes in my opinion (schools, car thefts, burglaries), in addition to the adults,” he said.

Guam law states in part that minors, or youth below 18 years of age, should be home between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. from Sunday to Thursday, and from 12:01 a.m. on a Saturday to 6 a.m. on a Sunday. There are exceptions; for example, teens who are working and are either at work or headed home after work within the hours of curfew.

“We are requesting that the Guam Police Department strictly enforce Guam’s curfew laws against minors, with the assurance from this AG that we will prosecute those minors, their parents and others who warrant prosecution. We believe that tough curfew enforcement will curb the crimes in our 19 villages,” Moylan said in a press release.

“Further, we will be working with Child Protective Services if the investigation leads towards the parents being unfit, or clearly derelict in their responsibilities as parents to raise their children. Create the police reports, send them to us and we will prosecute.”

Moylan is asking mayors to report curfew violations to their village’s GPD Precinct Commander directly, or to GPD’s Chief.

The AG also invites the public to assist by emailing known and repeated violations to [email protected].

“We wish to work with parents and business establishments to ensure a safer community. The Guam Legislature clearly made it a policy of this community that minors (teenagers) should be at home with their parents and guardians at night, and not roaming our neighborhoods and villages committing crimes, and creating crime victims. We wish to work closely with you … to effectively combat the rising numbers of crimes arising from teenage minors, oftentimes during the darkness of night,” he said.

“We are aware that teenagers are breaking into our schools, stealing cars, entering homes, consuming alcohol and smoking marijuana, to name only a few of the many crimes. According to our mayors, these minors are seen at night hanging out in village parks, bus stations, recreation courts, as well as in the jungles, to name a few of the locations. They by law are required to be at home under the watchful eyes of their families.”

In a letter to James C. Moylan, Guam’s delegate to Congress; the attorney general asked for information regarding the U.S. Compact negotiations with the Federated States of Micronesia, “specifically, regarding how FSM citizens accused and adjudicated of wrongdoing (misdemeanor or felony) can immediately be deported from Guam.”

“We seek to work closely with you to establish efficient and effective measures to remove these undesirable lawbreakers if they attempt to come back into Guam. Also, to effectively prevent them from entry into Guam,” the attorney general wrote.

Typically, U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement flag non-U.S. citizens who get in trouble with the law and start the process of deportation as they see fit. During the previous administration, Gov. Eddie B. Calvo worked with federal officials, commuting nearly-completed sentences of non-U.S. citizens from various countries who had been flagged so they could be deported sooner. The local program was intended to reduce the population at Department of Corrections while also serving as a deterrent. mbj