TUGUEGARAO CITY, Philippines- Cagayan Valley is expected to have increased police visibility on the streets as new Police Regional Office 02 (PRO2) Director Chief Superintendent Jose Mario Espino ordered the return of the police beat system.
Espino said police presence and patrol in the streets could help in preventing crimes instead of merely reacting to them.
In this system, police officers will be assigned to areas or “stand-by points” in 12-hour shifts, with a beat patrol plan as guide. A patrol beat will be guided by the crime clock, crime patterns, and convergence of civilians.
“In one hour patrolling, [you get] 30 minutes rest so maghanap ka ng isang lugar na nakikita ka ng tao… Maghanap ka kung sino ang taong laging nandun so siya ngayon ang contact person. Kunin mo yung cellphone number niya then, siya ang pipirma na 30 minutes nagstand-by ka dun,” Espino explained.
Further, the police officer’s patrol plan, Espino said, will no longer be signed by a police inspector, but a civilian in the area who can prove the police’s work,” the PRO2 chief said. Chief inspectors will only supervise patrollers at random.
The signed plan and report will then be submitted to the officer’s supervisors in respective stations.
“This time around we will make sure na yung pag ikaw ay beat patroller at you are assigned 12 hours shift, talagang andun ka,” Espino told the media.
“Every time you go around the city, talagang hindi mo makita yung pulis… [but] the priority talaga ng every commander must be that his policemen are on the streets [dahil] nakikita [at] nafi-feel [sila] ng community,” Espino added.
Police officers who fail to patrol will be charged of neglect of duty and may face three-day suspension, Espino warned.
Meanwhile, the PRO2 chief said the doubled salaries for police means that they should maximize their presence.
“We have no reason not to do our job… May katumbas ang pagtaas ng sweldo. Katumbas nun [ay] trabaho. Paano natin babawasan kung wala tayong documentation? And the only way to do that is through the patrol beat system,” he said.
The beat patrol plan, Espino said, could also prevent police from erring, as the Philippine National Police gave strict sanctions through its “one strike policy” warning. “With this patrol beat plan makikita natin sino yung pulis na nagtatrabaho at sino ang nasa opisina,” he said.
Anti riding-in-tandem
Espino believes that the increased police visibility through the police beat system can address the issue of incidents involving motorcycle-riding suspects (MRS) in the region.
Although checkpoints and choke points are good counter measures against MRS, Espino said the beat patrol plan is still an important method in addressing MRS-related crimes.
“Kasi pag nakita nila yung pulis dun, magdadalawang isip sila. Eh ngayon hindi eh. They know where to go kasi walang pulis eh. Pero pag nakita nila yung police, they will think twice,” he said.
The PRO2 chief also tasked chiefs of police to solve cases involving motorcycle-riding gunmen. “Yung mga COPs must solve yung unsolved MRS. Hindi puwede yang nandiyan lang [yan] sa statistics,” he added.
Espino addressed police officers in his first command visit in Cagayan Police Provincial Office (CPPO) Camp Tirso Gador, on Wednesday, January 31.
(READ: New PRO2 chief vows ‘zero tolerance’ on drugs, crime)
Opportunity and adjustment
Cagayan Police Provincial Director Warren Gaspar Tolito said the new change of command in PRO2 is an opportunity to address criminality in the area.
“I think yung ganitong klaseng change of command is an opportunity for us to revitalize our eagerness to serve, and coming up with another idea on how we deal with this one,” Tolito said.
“I think it’s high time already that we move towards that beat patrol system. Dahil nung una kasi kaming dumating dito ay talagang parang war zone ang dating eh. Now that medyo na-istabilize, we will go back into the basics of really doing this beat patrol system,” the provincial director added.
Tolito said CPPO will do what they can to abide with Espino’s directive.
To augment manpower in the streets, PRO2 has recently deployed 73 police office to CPPO, Tolito said. Additional 40 officers will also be deployed to crime prone areas in Cagayan.
Meanwhile, Espino praised Tolito and the CPPO for reducing crime rate in the province.
In a press release, CPPO Provincial Operations and Plans Branch recorded a 43% decrease in crime volume. Crime rate was reduced from 264 cases to 148, CPPO said. Northernforum.net
