Makati gets wish for more cops but …

Makati City will get additional policemen, but it will have to wait until next year.

The Philippine National Police on Friday said 346 new recruits would be added to the Makati police, after the local government asked for more lawmen in view of recent street crimes like the P100,000 sidewalk robbery that left a messenger wounded Monday near the central business district.

PNP spokesperson Chief Supt. Reuben Theodore Sindac said the Makati police’s current strength of 548 members would be beefed up by rookies who still have to complete their training next year.

Four nonuniformed personnel (NUP) will also be added the Makati police, Sindac said in a press briefing at Camp Crame.

Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay earlier asked the PNP for additional forces because of the recurring robberies victimizing pedestrians and commuters in the city, with the latest reported on Gil Puyat (Buendia) and Chino Roces avenues.

According to Sindac, Makati City has a current population of 529,039 and a police-to-population ratio of 1:796. It has an estimated transient daytime population of 4.7 million, being host to the country’s premier financial and commercial hub.

The PNP currently has 148,000 policemen for a national population of 100 million, for a ratio of 1:675. The ideal is 1:500.

“The numbers have not drastically changed over the past two decades, but certainly there had been marked improvements due to radical (PNP) initiatives in terms of recruitment, deployment and human resource development to fully optimize every available warm body for police operations,” Sindac said.

The PNP would also be moving more “desk-bound” policemen to the field soon with the hiring of 30,000 more NUPs for administrative work, he added.