04-14-06

Hi friends, this is Harry Blalock; General Manager for radio stations KZMI & KCNM. It's that time once again to take a look at the issues of the week, and to offer some Food For Thought.

I'm sure you've all heard the saying that a law isn't worth the paper it's written on. In some instances it's because the law is unenforceable or just totally ridiculous, but in many more cases recently it's because there is no enforcement of the law. In order for a law to function properly and actually work, it has to be clearly written, easily understood, and then followed up on and enforced. Part of what makes a law effective is making sure that the citizens it applies to completely understand it and are aware of it. After all, how can you be expected to follow a law if you have no idea what the law is or how it applies to you? If as a community or a government we don't have the will to follow through on laws and to see that they are followed, and that enforcement efforts are actually ongoing, then why have the laws in the first place? There are so many shining examples of this that I hardly know where to begin.

I guess I'll start with the one that is the freshest in my memory because I have had so many examples of it lately. In my travels around the island, I have come across numerous examples lately of police officers blatantly disregarding drivers who violate traffic laws. Now obviously, making sure that traffic laws are properly followed and adhered to is not the only part of a police officers job, however, it should be a very big part of it. We have a situation where you don't really have to learn the traffic laws here to be able to drive because there is currently no drivers education program, and when the police officers don't bother enforcing our laws, it makes it a free for all on our roads. People think they can get away with anything, and they drive accordingly. Here are just a few examples that I have personally witnessed in the last week or two:

- A police officer on a motorcycle riding next to someone else riding a motorcycle that was not wearing a helmet. We have helmet laws in the CNMI, but this police officer either didn't know it, didn't care about it, or wasn't paying any attention to motorists around him.

- I had someone make a left hand turn from the right hand lane, cutting me off and turning in front of me. The police officer in the vehicle behind me never bothered pulling him over and telling him that what he did was not only illegal, but also incredibly unsafe.

- I have seen many people not even slow down for stop signs, but just drive right through them, many times in plain view of police officers, who do nothing about it. Anywhere I've ever driven in the states, you had better come to a complete stop at a Stop sign or you're going to get a ticket if a police officer sees it. Here, everybody knows that nobody has to stop at a Stop sign because police officers never write tickets for that, so very few people ever bother coming to a complete stop at a Stop sign. We might as well just take all the signs down and replace them with signs that say "Be Careful", at least that might make people think before proceeding ahead. But our Stop signs are just a joke.

- I also witnessed a car in the right turn lane only on Beach Road heading north by Quartermaster Road ignore the right turn only sign, and continue going straight, cutting off the car right next to him. Again, this was witnessed by a police officer, who never bothered pulling over the car to tell them they had just broke a traffic law but not turning right in a right turn only lane. Even if the officer didn't write this motorist a ticket, he should have at least pulled him over and told him why what he just did was wrong, and explained how to properly drive in that stretch of road. But no, this officer either didn't know, or was too lazy to bother pulling the motorist over and doing his job.

- I have also witnessed several police vehicles stopping for pedestrians at non-crosswalks on 4 lane roads. This creates a traffic hazard not only for the pedestrians trying to cross the road, but also for other motorists who may not see that traffic is stopped for someone to cross the road. People might be used to watching for pedestrians at designated crosswalks, but situations like the one I just described have caused numerous accidents on Saipan, mainly resulting in death. It is for this reason that you are not supposed to stop for pedestrians unless you're at a designated crosswalk, however even our police officers don't bother following the rules on this one.

There are numerous other instances I could list, but I think you get my point. Having traffic laws really makes no sense if we don't bother teaching them to our drivers in the first place, and then our police officers don't bother enforcing them anyway. But traffic laws are hardly the only place that there is a lack of enforcement of our laws, rules and regulations.

We have also had a huge problem with people taking out loans from CDA, and then not bothering to pay them back. Not only has CDA not bothered going after many of these people to get them to repay the loans, but many of these people who have defaulted on these government loans then wind up getting jobs working for the government. Now if we were serious about collecting on these bad debts, we would see to it that a portion of their government wages had to be used to satisfy that bad debt. But to my knowledge, we have never bothered doing that here. It's almost like there's an unwritten rule that if you take out a loan with a government agency and default on it, you don't really have to worry about it, because everybody does it, and they'll never force you to pay. If we took our collection and enforcement responsibilities in these matters seriously, there would be much more money to loan out to others with businesses ideas and opportunities, but sadly, we haven't.

Such is also the case with many people who have misused government funds during their time of service with the government. When they are eventually caught, a repayment schedule is usually worked up instead of following up with prosecution. The repayment schedule though may be so lax that the person doesn't even wind up keeping up with the interest payments, and therefore slides further and further behind, never really making any progress on repaying the amount they owe. In many instances, the person makes few if any actual payments, and then just decides to ignore it. It is hardly ever followed up on or enforced, and is rarely ever turned over for prosecution. So again, why bother going through all the motions if there is not the will to actually follow through with enforcement?

We have witnessed many incidents in the past where our sanctuary laws and fishing laws were broken, and the violators were either just slapped on the wrists or let go completely. This tells people that we are not really serious about these laws, and that as long as you are connected, you don't really have to worry about following the laws. It also tells the enforcement officers that we don't have the will to actually uphold the laws and to make the violators pay the specified fines. So once they realize that the people they take the time to catch are just going to get off with a minimal fine anyway, it takes away their desire to take their job seriously, and to enforce the laws aggressively.

Without proper enforcement, no law is worth the paper it is written on, and once people realize that, they lose all respect for the law, and eventually will only follow the laws that they see as convenient. Honestly, we are better off not having the laws, than to have laws that no one bothers to uphold or enforce, or to only enforce selectively. A society with no laws or rules is a very scary thing, but is it any different really than a society with laws and rules that nobody takes seriously or bothers to enforce? The effect is pretty much the same either way; people just wind up doing as they please.

I believe the current administration realizes that enforcement has been a real problem in many areas, and they are trying to do something about it. Part of the solution is in people taking their jobs and responsibilities seriously. Police officers need to start enforcing our traffic laws, and pulling over those who violate them. They also need to be sure that they are following the laws themselves first, and are setting a good example. Those in positions of authority at Fish & Wildlife need to realize they are there to protect our natural resources, and if they don't take appropriate action when violations occur, that they then become part of the problem as well. And those entrusted with collecting on the loans they make at CDA need to take their positions seriously as well, and do their best to protect these government funds, so that they will be available when the next clients needs some financial help as well. Your laws and rules are only as good as your enforcement, and if your enforcement is useless, then so are your laws and rules.

I'm Harry Blalock, thanking you once again for giving me a generous slice of your valuable time, and allowing me to share my Food For Thought.