Monday, June 02, 2008 Cops to study English for 16 weeks
INVESTIGATORS from the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) special units and 11 stations will undergo a 16-week workshop and lecture on writing effective English sentences from June 17 to Oct. 7.
Senior Supt. Patrocinio Comendador said the program is part of the police force’s and the City Government’s effort to improve his men’s writing and communication skills.
“The idea is to improve the knowledge base of the investigators. While we are very strict in the police officers’ proficiency in shooting, there is also a need to improve the investigators’ skills in communication and sentence construction,” he told Sun.Star Cebu.
Funds
The Cebu City Hall, through City Councilor Augustus Pe Jr., provided the funds for the program, Comendador said.
The workshop will be held at the Cebu Normal University every Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.
“We cannot expect them (investigators) to be fluent in English because it is not our tongue. But there is always an avenue for improvement,” the CCPO director said.
The program also includes translating Cebuano-Visayan narratives to English, writing reports, studying technical and legal vocabulary, mock interviews with client-victims with investigative reports preparation, and group output oral presentation.
Reports
For SPO1 Jay Yballe, Homicide Section chief investigator, the workshop is very helpful, particularly in making investigation reports and affidavits.
“Wa na unya tong panahon kanang joke bahin sa pulis investigator nga nangutana sa nakakita unsay gigamit pagpatay. Unya mitubag ang testigo nga knife, pero di man kamao ang pulis sa spelling sa knife, miingon nalang ang pulis nga bolo na lang kay sayon (Gone will be the day when people used to joke about a police investigator who asked a witness what weapon was used in the killing. The witness said a ‘knife.’ Since the policeman did not know how to spell knife, he told the witness to just say it was a bolo, which is easy to spell out),” he said with a smile.
Yballe also helps fellow investigators check out the grammar of reports and affidavits before submitting these to Homicide Section Chief Mario Monilar for his signature.
Yballe, with PO3s Geoffrey Gutual and Rex Tion, were among the investigators chosen to participate in the workshop. (JST)
