RES GESTAE
Two faces of a crime
The recent bukas/basag kotse incidents in Iloilo City drew out different views on the present peace and order situation not only in Iloilo City but also in the whole region. Ineffectiveness of the police force is seen as the primary reason for these undeterred crimes.
Well, it is inevitable that the police force will be made accountable for the occurrence of crime incidents; it’s their primary duty to prevent and control crimes. But peace and order is not the sole concern of the police. The father of modern policing, Sir Robert Peel, contends that the community has equal accountability to the crimes that transpire in our surroundings.
Peel’s law enforcement principle is popularly known as community oriented policing. It supports the idea that the police and citizens must be together in a cooperative effort to prevent and solve crime and reduce social disorder in local neighborhoods.
Peel’s innovative approach to policing is centered on: 1) Police and citizens working together; 2) The use of innovative problem solving techniques; 3) Constant contact and consultation between the police and the community; 4) Ownership and responsibility (accountability instead of responsibility?) to neighborhood areas; and 5) Opportunities for the community to be active in the police process.
Now, looking with the eyes of Peel’s policing principle, the recent bukas/basag kotse incidents in Iloilo City cannot be attributed solely to law enforcers’ ineffectiveness or incapability. The region’s police force under the leadership of Police Chief Superintendent Isagani Cuevas never fails to remind the public of different safety measures to avoid being victim of the criminal elements preying on cars.
Cuevas, in several statements released through the mass media, reiterated basic tips to avoid being victims of perpetrators of bukas/basag kotse. He also admitted that Iloilo City, in particular, still lacks of police personnel to provide a massive police visibility.
These are only few factors that should have awakened the public on their role in the crime prevention efforts. There are the safety tips; it is up to them to bear them in mind. Likewise, while the police are maximizing its strength to patrol the streets and other areas of convergence, they cannot be in one particular area 24/7.
Our police are no superheroes; they cannot be omnipresent. They can only do half of our efforts to make this place a safer to live, work, invest and do business. The other half of the responsibility lies on the discretion of each of us.
Thus, I always contend that crime incidents that transpired here and in other places have two faces: they mirror both the ineffectiveness and the lack of capability of law enforcers and the apathy of the community.
(Comments to rogatepnp@yahoo.com)