Retailers told: Invest in security equipment

SHOP OWNERS in Cebu are encouraged to invest in surveillance equipment to secure their establishments and be proactive in monitoring and preventing crimes.

Supt. Paul Labra II, Philippine National Police Regional Intelligence Division chief, made this call yesterday during the Philippine Retailers Association-Cebu Chapter General Membership meeting at the Ayala Center Cebu.

Labra said the retailers should help police in preventing crimes.

Labra suggested three points on how the members of the retailers group could assist police in the fight against crime.

cctv, guards

“First, install CCTV (closed-circuit television) cameras in their establishment. That could help us a lot when we investigate crimes in the establishment,” he said.

He also suggested that retailers hire security personnel from competent security agencies, which really invested in training their guards for combat and would be ready to secure their establishments during crisis.

“The third is to report incidents to the authorities. Anything suspicious or anyone whom you suspect is a criminal. Report it to us immediately so that we can act right away. That way we can be able to avoid any crime from happening,” Labra said.

Labra said that the help of the retailers in securing their establishments would be needed especially since only over 8,000 policemen were handling the security needs of Central Visayas.

In Metro Cebu alone, the estimated population is about two million.

According to Labra, they are doing everything they can to be more effective in securing everyone especially that the region is attracting a lot of tourists and potential investors and is experiencing robust economic growth.

CRITICAL

“Security is critical especially for economic growth areas. We need to make our customers and guests feel secure when coming here that is why we will need all the help we can get especially from your group,” he said.

Jun Yap, PRA-Cebu chapter president, said the group was taking on a proactive role in eliminating threats both internal and external that’s why they invited the PNP official to the meeting.

He said he wanted the police to convince and encourage their members to work with authorities in preventing crimes.

“There was one incident that the police successfully solved. It was a stolen credit card crime and we immediately alerted them and worked closely with other retailers to pin down the criminal. We also collaborated with the taxi driver whose passenger was the suspect who brought us to where the passenger lived. These are cases of solved crimes through collaboration and that is what we want our members to do. That way we can secure our establishments more and avoid losses,” said Yap.