Tuesday, September 04, 2007 Britain finances new model police station project
THE British Embassy in Manila is funding the establishment of another Model Police Station (MPS) in a city in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (Armm).
A Model Police Station will rise in Marawi City in Lanao del Sur as part of the reform initiatives of the PNP under its Integrated Transformation Program.
A memorandum of agreement was signed over the weekend by British Ambassador Peter Beckingham and PNP Deputy Chief Jesus Verzosa, who is also executive director of the PNP Program Management Office (PMO).
The accord formalized the grant of 24,000 pounds (1 British pound = P93.79) from the government of the United Kingdom to bankroll the Model Police Station Project in Marawi City.
Versoza, the project's prime mover, said the program aims to standardize what a police station should be in terms of physical infrastructure, police service methods, systems and procedures, human resource and technical and equipment capabilities - important factors that greatly impact on timely and quality delivery of police service.
"It is high time that we establish police stations that boast of higher standards of service due to improved technical, logistical and equipment capabilities manned by well-trained police specialists who are human-rights and gender sensitive and housed in well-appointed, citizen-friendly offices," Versoza said.
As one of the selected pilot sites of the PMO-MPS project, the headquarters of the Marawi City Police Station will not only undergo physical transformation but its personnel as well.
The PNP-PMO in cooperation with the British Embassy will conduct specialized training to improve human resource capabilities of its personnel.
The training includes a workshop on community policing, Witness Protection Program and documentation and reporting, among others.
The Marawi City police will also start a radio program in a local radio station called "Salaam Pulis Marawi," a one-hour talk show hosted by a local radio personality and a police officer to tackle various issues like peace and order, criminality, police actions and accomplishments.
The radio program hopes to bring the police closer to the people of Marawi City and its environs.
The PMO earlier chose the Marikina City Police Station as its pilot site for the MPS Project. (VR/Sunnex)
