Another Department of Public Safety Issue

This space has raised questions in the past about the staffing levels and performance at the Department of Public Safety. Several years ago, then Auditor DeNucci found that 30% of elevators in the state had expired inspection stickers.

Following the death of a child at a mall due to an accident on an escalator, there has been increased scrutiny of the department.

Now, after a review of escalators across the state, there comes news that the two inspectors who certified that mall escalator are to be fired, six will be suspended for five days, and 26 will be reprimanded.

Depending on whose numbers you believe, there are either 51 or 57 inspectors in the department. That means that between 60% and 67% of the department’s inspectors are being disciplined around the fundamental issue of inspection quality.

That strikes me as an agency with a fundamental problem, needing root and branch reform.