The province's PNP has just announced it would field 40 additional cops in the commercial district of the city for maximum visibility.
It should be fair warning to any bank robbers, potential or proactive, that it will be rough the next time around.
As it is, the additional force in police cars (Whatever happened to the City Government's patrol cars, anyway?) and on foot, are reminiscent of the troop surges deployed by the United States in its war in Iraq. It's an old strategy, greater force meeting the enemy's.
It is a no-brainer, for sure, and should have been done earlier. Some people might have been spared of the traumatic ordeals, apart from parting with their hard-earned money, as a result of recent robberies involving a bank and another bank's employees.
But that is under the bridge now. What's ahead should restore the public's confidence in the ability of the police to turn away, if not catch, criminals who have, for sometime now, stalking the city, so to speak.
By way of suggestion, there should be more to visibility, however, than just presence. While keeping criminals at bay, the police should just as well behave in a manner that will further bolster their respectability with the public. Being tough and being courteous are not exactly mutually exclusive.
Fighting the war on crimes can't be handled by the police alone. The public has much an essential role to play as law enforcers. How the public will do its job to help the police do theirs depends on how much the public trusts and supports them.
What's taking place in the city right now, in the wake of recent spate of crimes, should be an opportunity for the police to show what they are capable of in terms of striking fear in the hearts of criminals and inspiring public support and admiration.
That should be the day to look forward to. In any case, isn't that what the new PNP PR tack "Mamang Pulis" all about?
