For a neighborhood and community, the presence of patrol vehicles not only makes people feel safe but also serves as a deterrent for potential crime. But numbers obtained by KUAM from the Guam Police Department show that over half of their fleet is out of commission. Joan Aguon Charfauros breaks down the numbers.

"I get a lot of concerns about police visibility...so when I look at the number of vehicles we have assigned to the precincts, it's concerning to me," declared Senator Chris Barnett, chair of the Committee on Public Safety. He responding to recent numbers KUAM obtained through the Freedom of Information Act request from GPD on their current fleet of vehicles.

Among the four precincts - Sinajana, Hagat, Tumon and Dededo - there is supposed to be a total of 60 vehicles. There should be 13 at Sinajana, 15 in Hagat, 15 in Tumon, and 17 at Dededo. However, there are only 20 operable vehicles among the four precincts. 40 are inoperable. That is an average of one vehicle per village, which is concerning.

"You take a village like dededo, we need a lot more than one patrol car roaming around. I think we've got to level up and definitely have to get more police presence out there in the village," Barnett added. "This is where the people are being victimized by the crime."

Breaking down the numbers, GPD has a total of 235 vehicles. Of that, 111 are operable and 124 are currently down. Of that, 50 are slated to be surveyed and 74 are awaiting repairs.

KUAM also asked of those 74 vehicles awaiting repairs, how many were involved in an accident. The response was 21. When we further inquired of that number how many were officers in violation? GPD refused to provide that information.

It's a no brainer, the more police presence out there, the more is sends a message to the bad guys, that they will be caught.

According to Barnett, who raised concerns to gpd chief stephen ignacio, the agency received 2.4 million for new cars. He said, "I really think it's about equipping the officers with the tools that they need to do their job. When we have a better equipped police force, we're better able to protect the public from the rampant crime that's here in our villages."