Cops tap 150K guards, private eyes for help

To beef up manpower for crime prevention and response, the Metro Manila police are turning to an armed civilian sector for help.

The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Philippine Association of Detective and Protective Agency Operators (Padpao) for closer coordination between the local police and private security and detective forces.

NCRPO chief Director Carmelo Valmoria, who assumed the post on Dec. 11, noted that Padpao had 600,000 members nationwide, with 150,000 in Metro Manila alone who can serve as “force multipliers” for the police who need to look after 18 million people in the capital.

Valmoria said the “nitty-gritty” of the new partnership was still up for discussion, but under the memo “the chiefs of police can [mobilize] security guards if a crime happens” in their respective cities and “can have jurisdiction over them.”

“Our police are not omnipresent but a lot of establishments have security guards. Right now, guards protect only the establishments where they are employed. With this, they can be deputized to help with whatever happens in the vicinity where they are deployed,” he explained.

“Since they are there 24/7, it is important for them to be deputized for crime prevention and control as [police] force multipliers. We can use them as eyes and ears in the area so we can get the information about that area. We can use their security studies about the area.”

“The ideal police ratio is one for every 500 (civilians), but here in Metro Manila, we have 18,700 policemen for a population of 18 million (1 for every 963),” he said in an interview following Tuesday’s signing ceremony at Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City.

Valmoria said the private augmentation force could also prove particularly helpful in security preparations for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Regional Forum next year and the Apec forum in 2015, both being held in the country.

In a message to the NCRPO, Padpao president Ramon Bergado, whose group includes about 2,000 security and detective service companies, said “we know you are capable but you don’t have the numbers.”

“But security is not only the concern of the police, but the concern of all,” he added, noting that the Philippines had been “dwarfed” by other countries in Asia in terms of tourism “because our peace and order situation is not that good.”

‘Ban on caps’ clarified

Meanwhile, Valmoria clarified reports that the NCRPO had imposed a total ban on wearing caps and sunglasses inside malls in the wake of the Dec. 15 jewelry heist at SM North in Quezon City.

“We made a recommendation to mall operators last week, but it’s really up to them if they would take the suggestion or not,” he said. The supposed ban was earlier reported in some newspapers (not the Inquirer).

“You can’t satisfy everyone, but this is one way we see that can minimize the concealment (of perpetrators) and maximize the use of security cameras,” he said. “I don’t think it will cause much of an inconvenience. The bottomline is that security is everybody’s concern.”

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