Cops brush up on crime investigation, int’l laws

MANILA, Philippines—Police probers based in Metro Manila are brushing up on crime investigation procedures while their superiors are undergoing a refresher course on human-rights policies and international humanitarian law.

Chief Superintendent Alan Purisima, National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) director, said that 302 police probers from the NCRPO and the five Metro police districts would undergo a training program on the investigation of crimes.

“Over the years of review and evaluation, we have noticed that there have been deficiencies and other shortcomings in the previous investigation training that we conducted,” Purisima said at the ceremony, which kicked off the start of the training Monday morning at Camp Bagong Diwa in Bicutan, Taguig.

According to him, the latest criminal investigation courses should result in “knowledgeable and result-oriented investigators among our ranks so cases [would] be resolved immediately.”

Of the 302 police investigators who will take part in the training program, 50 are from the NCRPO headquarters. They will be joined by 51 policemen from the Northern Police District; 50 from the Eastern Police District; 47 from the Manila Police District; 50 from the Southern Police District; and 54 from the Quezon City Police District.

The refresher course, which will take 240 hours to complete, will tackle criminal laws, investigative procedures and court practices, including both theory and practical exercises.

Purisima said the training would be conducted in police district offices to reduce expenses. The instructors are recognized experts in their fields. They include scene of the crime operatives, prosecutors, judges and law teachers from the University of the Philippines.

On the other hand, 27 senior police officers started brushing up on international human rights polices and international humanitarian law on Monday.

Director Arturo Cacdac, director of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Investigation and Detective Management, said they wanted their senior officers to have a better understanding of the implementation of human rights and international humanitarian law in police operations such as arrests and detention.

He said a review of these policies was necessary since the PNP supports the military’s counter-insurgency operations and international peacekeeping missions.

“Our workshop comes [on] the heels of dramatic events and sweeping changes in our country and in other parts of the world. In the Middle East and some parts of Africa, political upheavals and internal armed conflicts have again highlighted the importance of international humanitarian law especially in the face of alleged war crimes committed by certain heads of state and their security forces,” Cacdac said at the opening of the four-day workshop at the Tagaytay Highlands in Tagaytay City.

The workshop was sponsored by the International Committee of the Red Cross.