THE City Advisory Council for Police Transformation and Development (CACPTD) in Bacolod City approved a resolution requesting from Police Regional Office (PRO)-Western Visayas for additional police personnel to the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO).
Acting Mayor El Cid Familaran, chairperson of CACPTD, said the resolution was approved during their second meeting on June 26.
He said the CACPTD was organized as a strategic adviser to BCPO, empowered to infuse independent and external perspective of policing towards the realization of police Peace and Order Agenda for Transformation and Upholding of the Rule-of-Law (Patrol) Plan 2030.
He added that during their meeting, it has been reported that BCPO had a total of 643 uniformed personnel comprising of 36 police commissioned officers and 607 police non-commissioned officers.
Taking into account the 2016 census of the population of Bacolod City which is at 592,591 inhabitants, the police to population ratio is projected at one personnel for every 922 inhabitants, Familiaran noted.
“Gleaning from the foregoing data, BCPO is need of 1,185 actual strength of uniformed personnel or an additional of 542 to be in accordance with the prevailing standard of 1:500 police to population ratio,” Familiaran said.
He said May Bautista, CACPTD member representing the academe, manifested to the council that efforts should be made to gradually bridge the gap from the current strength of BCPO to reasonable police to population ratio foreseen to perpetuate the momentum gained in its management of crime environment.
“We are hopeful that PRO-Western Visayas director Chief Superintendent John Bulalacao Jr. will consider our request for the assignment of additional police personnel,” he added.
Familiaran disclosed that this year, the city’s crime rate also decreased because of the presence of policemen in various areas. (MAP)