BY: FAYETTE C. RIÑEN
CEBU CITY, May 29 (PIA) --- Further strengthening police visibility in public areas within Metro Cebu will be implemented by the Police Regional Office (PRO-7) as part of their strategy to lower street crimes in a program dubbed Metro Cebu Comprehensive Deployment System (MCCDS).
PRO-7 Officer-in-Charge S/Supt. Orlando Ualat during the recent ‘Talakayan sa Isyung Pulis’ Forum said the MCCDS will maximize police forces out in the streets to prevent street crimes from happening.
According to Ualat, Metro Cebu will be the pilot area which is appropriate considering the bulk of economic activities in the province and the entire Central Visayas take place in localities under Metro Cebu.
The cities of Cebu, Mandaue, Lapulapu and Talisay form part of Metro Cebu.
In a detailed presentation of the MCCDS in the same forum, deputy chief of the Regional Intelligence Division of PRIO-7 P/Supt. Rex Derilo said the program will witness more augmentation of policemen out in the streets in beat or foot and mobile patrol and in covert operations.
“The response to street crimes is always police presence,” stressed Derilo.
In the past five months, there were 1,208 recorded street crimes in the entire region or an increase of 13.32 percent compared to last year of the same period with only 1,066 cases.
The highest street crimes were recorded in Cebu City with 905 from January to April this year which registered a hike of 11 percent compared to last year of the same period with 814 cases.
The volume of street crimes also increased in Cebu Province, Negros Oriental and Mandaue City while Bohol and Lapulapu City noted a decrease in street crimes.
A conference took place last Tuesday with police directors within Metro Cebu wherein they were asked to come up with a comprehensive deployment strategy that would cover major public streets in their area, said Derilo.
Three objectives were cited by Derilo in coming up with the program namely curbing street crimes particularly incidents involving the use of firearms, part of security preparations with the opening of classes and a test run to determine if current strength can cover all or majority of the streets in Metro Cebu.
Apart from increasing the number of policemen in foot and mobile patrols, Derilo said other strategies that will be employed to ensure the success of the program are intensifying the establishment of checkpoints, deployment of covert personnel and with all these done in random manner.
“If the program will be successful in reducing crime volume especially street crimes then this will be replicated in other provinces in the region,” said Derilo. (rmn/fcr/PIA-7)