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Sunday, February 23, 2003
Weak economy leads to rise in street crimes
PANGASINAN -- Senator Manuel Villar Jr. said the rising street crimes are indication that the benefits from the growth in the national economy have not trickled down to the ordinary people.
Villar said the alarming figures on criminality should not only serve as a wake-up call for the Philippine National Police, but for local officials and government economic planners as well.
He said people have resorted to street crimes like snatching of mobile phones, jewelry, and other items because of the poor quality of life that they are currently experiencing.
"Unfortunately, a single solution to the crime problem does not exist. The way to combat crime would entail not only the vigilance of police, but also the involvement of the community on the proper use of modern technology," he said.
Villar said increasing the presence of police might act as a deterrent to prevent potential criminal activities and give the citizens a feeling that the city is safe from morning until night.
He said there might be a need to increase patrol officers in order to improve response time to emergency calls.
"Police deployment is a factor in fighting crime. Officers in the field would be able to develop contact with local residents. This would enable them to identify the problems in the communities and seek possible solutions," he said.
Villar said the establishment of a call center with civilians taking emergency calls may be a better solution than the current means of "texting" saying this would enable victims to talk to real persons acknowledging their situations.
"Response times would be improved if more officers would be in the field to respond to the calls immediately," he said.
Villar said the establishment of a national crime database that will be useful in the elimination of crime and criminal elements.
He filed Senate Bill No. 1002 or the "National Crime Database Act" which would require the national Bureau of Investigation and the Philippine National Police to provide information and records for the National Identification Index and the National Fingerprint File.
"Law enforcers could quickly resolve cases if they have immediate access to update criminal records," he said.
Earlier, President Arroyo in a command conference in Malacanang Friday reprimanded police officials for not doing their job to protect the public from thieves, muggers and other criminal elements prowling the streets.
Mrs. Arroyo took note of the widespread public perception that crime is on the rise and the government is unable to protect the public from criminal elements.
She said the police have focused themselves so much on big-time crime syndicates and not exerting similar effort on street crimes.
The crimes include snatching of cellular phones and jewelry, picking pockets, fighting among gangs, mugging and selling of illegal drugs.
Topping the highest incidence of street crimes is Metro Manila 8,108, followed by Cebu with 5,510. Last month, crime incidents in Metro Manila increased by 22 percent.(Sun.Star Pangasinan) |
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