Cordillera cops go paperless vs crime

CAMP DANGWA, La Trinidad, Benguet – Going with trend on advanced information and communication technology, Cordillera policemen have started paperless transactions to improve drive against criminality and terrorism.

Chief Supt. Benjamin B. Magalong, regional director of the Cordillera Police Regional Office, said the regional police force adopted the geographical information system (GIS) to improve crime analysis and strategies .

            

“Our officers and men on the field can now be actively involved in decision-making through the use of their state-of-the-art units of communication equipment, thus, important decisions could be easily achieved without disrupting other police work being done on the field,” Magalong said.

           

He said their crime solution efficiency has improved since the information technology infrastructure was set up early this year.           

            

Apart from reducing man hours in the police work, Magalong added the paperless transaction in the regional headquarters has also resulted in significant savings in the purchase of office supplies and have made officers and men more productive in their assigned work.

            

For instance, he cited the PRO-CAR is now only spending P16,500 with the use of the new IT infrastructure compared to the over P28,000 previously being spent for internet services alone.

           

The command’s IT infrastructure is capable of having a speed of 3 10mbps which is better compared to the previous set up.

            

In terms of office supplies, the police official said the present procurement has declined also triple compared to the hundreds of thousands of pesos being spent for coupon bonds, among others.

            

In addition to the paperless transaction, Magalong disclosed the regional command has also procured state-of-the-art night vision gaggles, bullet re-loaders, firearms in order to improve the operational capability of policemen assigned in the field so that they will be able to counter lawless elements who also have gone high tech in the pursuit of their illegal trade.

            

While GIS is also in place in other regional police offices in the country, Magalong said the PRO-CAR is the first to use GIS to enhance their crime analysis and improve the strategies being implemented to deter the commission of crimes in identified crime-prone areas during different times of the day.

            

Being the first to use the GIS and IT infrastructure for various uses in the command, Magalong said the national headquarters has requested the region’s trained personnel to conduct the needed demonstration to show how the system on procurement, accounting, logistics among others operate so that it will be replicated in the whole system thereby making the country’s police force paperless in the future.

           

 “Our personnel were already able to adjust to the situation and we are now doing well in the performance of our duties and responsibilities, especially in overseeing the overall peace and order situation in the region,” Magalong stressed, adding that he wants policemen to be attune with the current trend of the times so that they will not be left behind by lawless elements who are advancing in the pursuit of their illegal trade.

            

With the purchase of re-loaders, he said bullets of caliber .45 is now being produced at a cost of P4.50 per bullet compared to its original buying price of P22 while bullets for M-16 Armalite rifles, which are locally produced, now cost P14.50 compared to its P29 purchase price from the suppliers.

           

 “We have our own scorecards for our officers so we are able to determine our respective positions in the performance of our duties,” he added, citing that he does not care of the region will not get the award for best regional police office since what he wants is that his officers and men are productive in their assigned works.—By Dexter A. See