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Nat’l anti-crime program enlists youth involvement

Written by anyajulia on 01 September 2008

CONVERTING schools as zones of peace and networking student councils against crimes is what the country’s authorities eye for this year’s National Crime Prevention Week.

As the country gears up again to celebrate the annual event, leaders put up the urgent call for unity as the, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Ronaldo Puno bares the theme.

In his memorandum to local chief executives and anti-crime authorities, Puno said the theme “Kapit-Bisig Kabataan Tungo sa Kapayapaan, Now Na!” will be projected in a slogan, “Lakad Kabataan Laban sa Kriminalidad.”

The memorandum dated July 17, 2008, had Secretary Puno, who chairs the National Police Commission enjoining Napolcom Regional Directors, DILG rank and file, governors, city and municipal mayors peace council officers to actively support the projects and activities of the National Crime Prevention Week celebration.

In Bohol, local police authorities who were at the launching said this year’s crime prevention focus is “a realization of a pilot program spearheaded by the National Police Commission’s pilot program of enlisting the youth’s help”, Bohol police authorities declared.

With the NAPOLCOM in the project is Assumption College and the Philippine National Police.

To recall, Police Director for Personnel and Resource Management Gen, Edgardo Acuña personally launched in Loboc town two years ago the schools as zones for peace and enlisted student councils of the town’s high schools as anti-crime force multipliers simply by denying crimes in school zones.

He then hoped that the initiative in Bohol would be replicated in all schools across the country.

The National Crime Prevention Week, celebrated every September 1-7 now hopes to pick up on the Bohol launching to make the project national in scope.

The focus on enlisting the youth against crime came after the gross discrepancy in the police and population ratio.

At the current 1:1000 avarage police per population ratio in the country, the task handled by police officers becomes even more daunting.

Straddled with the burden of lack of crime fighting equipment and mobility, at least taking off crimes from school zones and elimination student criminals raise our chances of managing criminalities to the minimum, a Camp Dagohoy based cop admitted. (rachiu/PIA)

PILOTING schools as zones of peace, Bohol student councils also showed the way to peace when the students in Loboc high schools vowed to keep crimes and criminals away from their schools. (PIA)

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