COPS Manual
COPS Manual
COPS Manual
POLICING SYSTEM
PNP-DS-O-8-95 (DHRDD)
VOLUME I
Republic of the Philippines
National Headquarters, Philippine National Police
Directorate for Human Resource and Doctrine Development
Camp Crame, Quezon City 1111
1995
MESSAGE
FOREWORD
RECAREDO A SARMIENTO H
Police Director General
Chief, PNP
Republic of the Philippines
Department of the Interior and Local Government
National Police Commission
NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS, PHILIPPINE NATIONAL POLICE
Directorate for Human Resource and Doctrine Development
Camp Crame, Quezon City
PREFACE
CRISOGONO R\FRANCISCO
Police Sr Superintendent, MNSA
Director
16 January 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Message .......................................................................................... i
Foreword ........................................................................................... ii
Preface .......................................................................................... iii
Introduction.......................................................................................... 1
Fundamentals of COPS .................................................. .................... 2
Traditional Policing; Characteristics..................................................... 5
Institutionalizing COPS........................................................................ 6
Program Components of COPS ........................................................... 10
COPS and PCR; Contrasts ................................................................. 13
Introduction;.......................................................,.....................................18
Foundation for Problem-Oriented Approach........................................... 19
The Nature of Police Problem................................................................. 20
Developing the Overall Approach............................................................ 21
Implementing the Process...................................................................... 25
Effect on the Organization...................................................................... 26
Problem-Oriented Policing: SARA Model................................................ 27
Introduction............................................................................................ 32
Return to the Basic; Peel's Principles...................................................... 32
The Need for Change ............................................................................ 34
Introduction........................................................................................... 38
Strategies ............................................................................................. 38
Potential Obstacles................................................................................ 42
Operational Guidelines........................................................................... 45
Bibliography ..................................................................................... 47
AppendixA - Police Beat System............................................................. 49
AppendixB - Neighborhood Watch: The Baguio Project.......................... 60
AppendixC - COPS Five-Year Master Plan............................................. 69
AppendkD - COPS Implementing Guidelines.......................................... 81
AppendixE - PNP Anti-Crime Strategy (LOISANDIGAN 10/93).............. 89
Chapter I
UNDERSTANDING COPS
Introduction
Fundamentals of COPS
The underlying framework for COPS is that the community should play
a more active and coordinated part in enhancing peace and order. The police
nor the criminal justice system cannot beat that responsibility alone. The
public should act as "co- producers" of public safety and order. Community
policing thus imposes a new responsibility on the police to devise appropriate
ways of associating the community with law enforcement and the
maintenance of order. (Skolnick and Bayley, 1988)
1. An admission that the police alone cannot solve the problem, and that
direct participation by citizens is also required.
5. The redirection of officers from their cruisers into more direct contact with
the community, along with the delegation of decision making authority to the
patrol officer's level.
5. Patrol officers are restrained in their role. They are not encouraged or
expected to be creative in addressing problems and are not rewarded for
undertaking innovative approaches.
6. Training is geared toward the law enforcement role of the police even
though officers spend only 15 to 20 percent of their time on such activities.
10. Performance evaluations are based not on outcomes but on activities. The
number of arrests made and the number of citations issued are of paramount
importance.
Institutionalizing COPS
h. Create advocates from among those who will become trainers; and
a. Residents of a defined area are encouraged to get together and act as the
eyes and ears of the police. This requires a certain amount of vigilance by
residents looking out for suspicious characters and vehicles, and then
informing the police;
b. The police assists the residents in marking their property with individual
code. This is intended to deter thieves and to facilitate identification and return
of stolen property;
Foot beats are another device for unhooking the police from
emergency system, / allowing them to mingle with the public outside a context
of demands. Foot beats may not lessen the volume of requests for service,
but they extend, deepen, and personalize interaction.
(Reference: Robert C. Trojanowicz. Community Policing Is Not Police - Community Relations. FBI Law
Enforcement Bulletin, October 1990)
Since PCR officers have no direct authority to make changes, they are
often perceived by the community as a buffer between the community and the
police station. Particularly in police stations where there is little commitment to
resolving problems, PCR officers often find themselves trapped between
angry community leaders and a defensive police administration. The problem
is compounded because PCR officers are not the policemen who respond
directly to the crime calls, so people cannot hold them directly accountable.
Within the police station, COPS will have a greater impact than PCR. In
PCR, change is limited from the top command who yield the most influence.
With COPS, change can start from the bottom. The police station benefits
from enhanced understanding about the underlying dynamics and concerns at
street level as viewed by ordinary citizens and community policemen when
this information reaches the chief and superior officers, it allows them to
balance the needs of powerful special interest groups with the needs of many
who might otherwise be ignored. The chief of police sees a broader picture
and become an advocate for the effective delivery of both la\v enforcement
and social services in the jurisdiction.
Introduction
Meeting this need requires that the police develop a more systematic
process for examining and addressing the problems that the public expects
them to handle. It requires identifying these problems in more precise terms,
researching each problem, documenting the nature of the current police
response, assessing its adequacy and the adequacy of existing authority and
resources, engaging in a board exploration of alternatives to present
responses, weighing the merits of these alternatives,. and choosing from
among them. Improvements in staffing, organization, and management
remain important, but they should be achieved within the context of a more
direct concern with the outcome of policing. One phenomenon is apparent.
The police bureaucracy becomes to preoccupied with running the
organizations and getting so involved in the methods of operations that it
loses sight of the primary purposes for which it was created.
Efforts 10 improve policing concentrated almost exclusively on internal
management: streamlining the organization, upgrading personnel,
modernizing equipment, and establishing more businesslike operating
procedures. Even the forerunners in the policing field stressed the need to
improve the organization and management of police agencies. Indeed, the
emphasis on internal management was so strong that professional policing
was defined primarily as the application of modern management concepts to
the running of a police organization.
Growth of a Consumer Orientation. Policing has not yet felt the full
impact of consumer advocacy. As citizens press for improvement in police
service, improvement will increasingly be measured in terms of results. Those
concerned about rape, for example, could not care less whether the police
who respond to such calls operate with one or two personnel in a car, whether
the policemen are short or tall, or whether they have a college education.
Their attention is on what police do for the victim..
Questioning the Effectiveness of the Best-Managed Agencies. A
number of police stations have carried out most, if not all, of the numerous
recommendations for strengthening a police organizations and enjoy a
national reputation for their efficiency, their high standard of personnel
selection and training, and their application of modern technology to their
operations. Nevertheless, their communities apparently continue to have
same problems as do others with less advanced police organizations.
Until recently, the police role in regard to the crime of rape was
perceived primarily as responding quickly when a report of a rape was
received, determining whether a rape had really occurred and attempting to
identify and apprehend the perpetrator. Today, the police role has been
radically redefined to include teaching women how to avoid attack, organizing
programs to provide safe movements in areas where there is a high risk of
attack and perhaps, most important providing needed care and support to the
rape victim to minimize the physical and mental damage resulting from such
an attack. Police are now concerned with sexual assault not simply because
they have a direct role in the arrest and prosecution of violators, but also
because sexual assault is a community problem which the police and others
can affect in a variety of ways.
In the analysis of a given problem, one may find, for example, that the
concern of the citizenry is primarily fear of attack, but the fear is not
warranted, given the pattern of actual offense. Where this situation becomes
apparent, the police have to deal more effectively with the actual incidents
where they occur, and to respond to the groundless fears. Each calls for
different response. One major value of problem specification is that it gives
visibility to some problems that warrant more careful attention.
First, the magnitude of the problem and the various forms in which it
surfaces must be established. One is inclined to turn initially to police reports
for such information. But overgeneralization in categorizing incidents, the
impossibility of separating some problems, variations in the reporting
practices of the community, and inadequacies in report writing seriously limit
their value for purposes of obtaining a full picture of the problem. However if
used cautiously, some of the information in police files may be helpful. Police
stations routinely collect and store large amounts of data, even though they
may not use them to evaluate the effectiveness of their responses. Moreover,
if needed information is not available, often it can be collected expeditious! v
in a well-managed police unit, owing to the high degree of centralized control
of field operations.
How does one discover the nature of the current police response'7
Administrators and their immediate subordinates are not good sources.
Naturally, they have a desire to provide an answer that reflects well on the
police, is consistent with legal requirements, and meets expectations of both
the public and other agencies that might have a responsibility for the problem.
Likewise, police administrators are often so distant from field operations that
they would have great difficulty in describing police responses accurately.
Inquiry, then must focus on the operational level. One must consider
the individual practices of policemen and the vast amount of knowledge they
acquire about the situation they handle. Taken together, these are extremely
rich resource that is often overlooked by those concerned about improving the
quality of police services. Serious research into the problems police handle
requires observing policemen over a period of time. This means
accompanying them as they perform their regular assignments and cultivating
the kind of relationship that enables them to talk candidly about the way in
which they handle specific aspects of their job.
The search for alternatives obviously need not start from scratch.
There is much to build on. Crime prevention efforts of the police should be
reassessed as to their impact on specific problems and those that appear to
have the greatest potential should be explored for each problem. Consider the
following foundations.
The pattern of creating new services that bear a relationship with police
operations is now well established, and one would expect that problem-
oriented policing will lead to more services in greater variety.
Increase Use of Local Ordinances. Does the problem call for some
community sanction less drastic than a criminal sanction
How does a police agency make the shift to problem oriented policing?
Ideally the initiative will come from police administrators. What is needed is
not a single decision implementing a specific program or a single
memorandum announcing a unique way of running the organization. The
concepts represents a new way of looking at the process of improving police
Functioning. Once introduced, tills orientation would affect subordinate,
gradually filter trough the rest of the organization, and reach other
administrators and agencies as well.
Success will depend heavily on the use of planning staff for systematic
analysis of substantive problems requires developing a capacity within the
organization to collect and analyze data and to conduct evaluation of the
effectiveness of police operation.
The approach calls for the police to take greater Initiative in attempting
to deal with problems rather than resign themselves to living with them. It calls
for tapping police expertise. It calls to the police to be more aggressive
partners with other agencies. These changes, which would place the police in
a much more positive light environment within the police organization. An
improved working environment increases the potential for keeping qualified
personnel and for bringing about needed organizational change.
Participation. Policemen of all ranks, from all units, should be able to use the
procedures as part of their daily routine.
Reproductibility. The system must be one that any police station could apply.
As stated above, the process has four stages. Police officers identify
problems during the scanning stage, collect and analyze information during
the analysis stage, work with other agencies and the public to develop and
implement solutions in the response stage, and evaluate their effectiveness in
the assessment stage. The results of the assessment may be used to revise
the response, collect more data, or even redefine the problem.
All policemen should be trained in the model, the use of the systematic
process, and the research background. The training should also emphasize
encouraging police initiative in uncovering problems, collecting information,
and developing responses. Policemen throughout the police station then
begin to apply the process.
Police stations that adopt and refine this approach will continue to
respond to specific criminal events. But they will go beyond this step,
preventing future incidents by solving the problems that would otherwise lead
to crime and disorder.
Introduction
While COPS had been introduced as pan of the PNP National Strategic
Action Plan, only a handful of police stations have actually applied the
concept. Some may claim to have implemented COPS, but expected changes
in their organizations are not visible. Police personnel may think they know
the meaning of COPS, yet they have attached various interpretations to it.
Inkster (1991) commented that "the essence of community-based policing still
eludes some of us and many of our efforts do not yield results because we
have not properly understood the concept we are trying to apply."
The power of the police to fulfill their duties is dependent on public approval
and on their ability to secure and maintain public respect.
Public respect and approval also mean the willing cooperation of the public
in the task of securing observance of the law.
The police must seek and preserve' public favor not by pandering to public
opinion, but by constantly demonstrating absolutely impartial service to law.
The police should strive to maintain at all times a relationship with the public
that gives reality to the tradition that the police are the public and the public
are the police.
The test of police efficiency is the absence of crime and disorder, not the
visible evidence of police action in dealing with these problems.
Police officers are peace officers rather than merely law enforcement officers
involved in crime control.
Initially, the chief of police and his staff should examine their
approaches to internal problem solving. This requires these officers to make
difficult decisions to change the routine. Those affected may feel that these
changes are too drastic. This may result to some disagreement, but COPS'
requires that partnership and collaboration must begin within the organization.
This does not imply that lines of authority cannot exist. A lot of
organizational scenes need to be handled according to regulations and
control processes. It does imply that organization wide decision making or
problem solving propels changes on the day to day routine.
Police stations may have to evaluate and prioritize the calls that require
a police response and ease the community into assuming more of the
responsibility for resolving problems. Small police stations benefit greatly from
this system of prioritizing calls, in as much as they have fewer policemen to
respond to calls.
COPS requires that police stations tailor their work to the particular
needs of the community. Therefore, police administrators should assess the
need of the station in relation to the needs of the community.
In order to do this successfully, police administrators must seek
legitimate citizen input. Policemen assigned to operational job should work
with citizens and businessmen in both neighborhoods and business districts
to build revitalize working relationships, and police administrators can parallel
the more accessible police/ neighbor relationship with a more visible role as
community leaders.
The police can quickly institute complex programs, but the change to a
new philosophy of policing requires more time. It takes time for the policemen
to view the community as a partner and to develop ways to act out the
partnership.
Police officers should assess the needs of the communities thev serve
so that they can efficiently plan their COPS strategies. One method of doing
this involves the development and use of a community analysis worksheet.
This worksheet should track the general demographic, socio-economic, and
institutional characteristics of a community. It will also help police analysts to
examine crime-related social conditions.
Police officers should assess the needs of the communities they serve
so that they can efficiently plan their COPS strategies. 'One method of doing
this involves the development and use of a community analysis worksheet.
This worksheet should track the general demographic, socio-economic, and
institutional characteristics of a community. It will also help police analysts to
examine crime-related social conditions.
IMPLEMENTING COPS
Introduction
It requires change in policing style, from one which the police respond
anonymously from incident to incident, to one which they get out in the
communities and become problem solvers in the neighborhoods they serve.
Strategies
How do the police know if they have successfully addressed that fear?
If people who once stayed in their homes begin to come out at night, and this
nighttime activity become common, this may be a measurement of fear
reduction. Surveys can be developed to measure these and oilier less-
traditional indicators. Similar measures may be taken to gauge community
involvement in meetings or participation in neighborhood watch, the police
auxiliary (Tanod) and police- community programs and projects.
There are many ways to respond to calls for assistance that do not
require the immediate dispatching of a mobile unit or personnel of assigned to
specialized functions. Other, less expensive responses may satisfy the
request just as effectively.
Potential Obstacles
In reality, the issue of methods and measures will take place on two
different and distinct levels. The first level is that of the police station or
organization; the second, that of the individual officer.
Training and Tactics. Training and tactics must reviewed with any
commitment to a COPS philosophy. Obviously, if COPS is adopted as the
way policemen perform their duties, proper training become a crucial factor to
success. Policemen must be adequately trained in community policing
methods. In terms of tactics, postponements of COPS may suggest that this
approach changes only the practices of policing.
Operational Guidelines
After these issues were taken seriously, the organization is now ready
to deploy community policemen in specified areas under a supervisor to
address the problems of crime and related social disorders. The COPS units,
under the guidance of the chief of police, should establish an effective working
relationships with various segments of the community and other police
functional units.
The COPS supervisor reports directly to the chief of police and has the
Responsibility for maintaining effective personnel. He attends neighborhood
meetings to respond to questions and obtaining feedback on current
neighborhood issues. The COPS supervisors facilitates brainstorming
sessions of his community policemen and the development of written action
plans. He coordinates COPS activities and interaction with other police units,
and conducts and reviews results of action plans with members.
The community policemen carry out the daily operation of the COPS
unit. They are involved in developing and implementing the action plans. They
conduct door-to- door neighborhood surveys, enlist the support and
commitment of the community, engage in high visibility patrol, maintain close
contact with the residents, work with other government agencies and the
private sectors.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Higdon, Richard Kirk and Philip G Huber. How To Fight Fear: The Cope
Programme Package. (Police Executive Research Forum, May 1987) 201 pp.
Moore, Mark H. and Robert C. Trojanowicz. Policing ana the Fear of Crime.
Perspectives on Policing (US National Institute of Justice, No. 3, June 1988) 8
Perez, Marta Brito. IACP Offers Training in Community Oriented Policing. The
Police Chief. May 1993.pp.39.40
Skogan, Wesley G. et. al. The Reactions to Crime Project. (US National
Institute of Justice, May 1982) 61p.
The Police Beat System or simply PBS is really nothing new. In today's
parlance, one cay say that the PBS is simply the "Koban" of Japan, the
"Neighborhood Watch" of Singapore, etc. In truth and in fact, the PBS,
consistent with the Community Oriented Policing System (COPS) under our
POLICE 2000 Program, is nothing but the Police Patrol System of old which
our post-war policemen observed. Significantly, the word PATROL can be an
acronym which stands for:
P - Policeman
A - Assigned
T - To
R - Restore
0 - Order in the
L - Locality
For NCRC, Police Beats shall be identified by a five (5) digit number. The first
(1st) digit shall refer to the numerical number assigned to the District, to wit:
1 - Northern Police District
2 - Eastern Police District
3 - Western Police District
4- Southern Police District
5 - Central Police District
The second (2nd) digit shall refer to the number assigned to each of
the cities/ municipalities within the District with the third (3rd) digit referring to
the number assigned to a particular Block. The fourth (4th) and fifth (5th)
digits shall refer to the numerical number assigned to a particular beat. For
this purpose, the number zero (0) shall precede the numbers one (1) to nine
(9) for the first nine (9) beats of the block.
Thereafter, the number zero (0) shall be dropped.
Improving the image of the PNP is the concern of every policeman and
not just those assigned in PCR offices. In fact, winning the people's "hearts
and minds" lies largely on the shoulders of our policemen on the street,
primarily the Beat Policeman. If only our policemen would start to live by what
me word POLICE stands as indicated herein, the image problem confronting-
the PNP today will be a thing of the past:
P - Person
0 - Of
L - Leadership,
I - Integrity,
C Courage and
E - Efficiency
Roll Call Training, or what ordinary policemen would call as "Fall in", is
simply that activity whereby policemen who have just finished as well as those
due to start their tour of duty are made to stand in formation at the vicinity of
their block headquarters to give their commander the opportunity to check the
physical appearance of personnel, be apprised of what transpired in the AOR,
and/or give out information, instructions and orders to members of the unit.
For this effort, the conduct of Roll Call Training shall be considered a
must as this activity will ensure that outgoing personnel are able to inform the
unit commander, the PCR Officer, and their counterparts in the incoming shift
of what problems were encountered during their tour of duty. Also, it will give
the commander the opportunity to check on the presentability of uniforms and
completeness of individual items of equipment of incoming shift personnel
which are deemed important in the projection of a respectable and efficient
police force. In the absence of the Block Commander, Roll Call Training may
be conducted by either the Desk Sergeant or the Patrol-in- Charge/Inspector.
1) PNP Badge
2) Whistle "
3) Name Plate
4) Pistol Belt with Holster
5) Service Pistol '
6) Baton
7) Raincoat and/or Flashlight (as appropriate)
Entries in both [lie notebook and the journal shall answer the basic
questions of WHAT, WHO, WHEN, WHERE, WHY and HOW of an incident or
problem encountered by a Beat Policeman particularly those problems as will
be discussed in succeeding sections hereof
The implementation of the PBS will entail the support and participation
of Barangay Officials and Tanods. Barangay Chairmen, as duly elected public
officials acting as the Chief Executive Officer of government within jurisdiction,
are persons in authority. And since policemen are but mere agents of persons
in authority, it goes without saying that policemen are expected to subordinate
themselves to a certain degree to the Barangay Chairman when it comes to
enforcement of the law and keeping the peace within his jurisdiction.
Barangav Tanods are residents of the community they serve and. in all
probability, are recognized if not known by the members of the community.
Since getting acquainted with and being known by members of the community
a component activity under the PBS, setting Barangay Tanods involved in this
process would help to remove whatever apprehensions or resistance that may
exist in the part of community residents especially in the early stages of this
effort. Also, when trouble erupts in a community, the presence of policemen
assisted by Barangay tanods who are normally armed with batons would
definitely mean a lot in the immediate restoration of peace and order in the
community.
1) Abandoned buildings
2) Places where alcoholic drinks are served
3) Suspected gambling dens
4) Suspected fronts for prostitution
5) Suspected drug dens
6) Others
Knowing fully well that Beat Policemen will not have the time to take
action on public service problems noted, they having to go home and rest
after their tour of duty it shall be the responsibility of the Block PCRO to take
concrete steps to bring to the attention of concerned government agencies
and public service companies such problems noted. As a general rule, actions
to be taken by Block PCROs shall either be in the form of
letters/endorsements or telephone calls sent/made directly to the office
concerned.
Mass media today plays a vital role in the delivery of basic services. It
will be noted that most, if not all, radio and television stations carry public
assistance programs in the likes of Aksyon Ngayon", "Hoy Gising", etc.
Whereas the PNP was always been in the receiving end of complaints aired in
such radio and TV programs, actions taken by Beat Policemen as well as the
matter of bringing to the attention of concerned government agencies basic
service problems noted shall be reported/coursed through such public
assistance programs. It shall be the responsibility of Block CROs to call up
radio/TV announcers/commentators on board such programs and air
accomplishments of a Beat Policeman or the nature of problems noted which
need action by concerned government agencies or public utility companies.
Notably, this act of reporting to media will instill in the minds of the public that
our policemen are doing their job and on top of the situation.
7, Feedback to the members of the community.
When Mt. Pinatubo erupted and the all of Olongapo City was covered
with ash fall, then Mayor Dick Gordon rallied the people of Olongapo to
literally rise from the ashes. In exhorting his constituents, he posed the
question "Di ka ba kakasa sa niundo?" and followed this up with the answer
"Kakasa Tayo!"
The statements of Mr. Gordon very well fits into this particular effort.
Following is the essence of his exhortation:
Dl - Diyos
KA - Katahimikan
KA- Kapwa
KA- Kadugo
KA-Kayang-kaya
KA - Kung
SA - Sama-sama
Introduction
Foundations
1. The policeman is given the total responsibility for policing a definite area or
territory within the city. He is expected to know his area or neighborhood
through modes of socialization. The policeman should manifest distinct
responsibility and accountability for public safety of his area.
d. Use of logistical equipment like weapons, radios and vehicles are confined
to the district and are allowed to be utilized outside boundaries during hot
pursuit or hen responding to emergencies and requests for assistance.
Vehicles and equipment are marked with distinctive logo/seal for easy
identification.
f. Response time to calls for services are made within 3 to 10 minutes with
this kind of decentralized set-up. The policeman can respond directly to
incidents without the unnecessary bureaucratic interference. Likewise, it is
preventive in nature as most criminals are hesitant to enter areas where
police response is visible.
Students often fall prey to muggers, thieves, snatchers and con artists
of all sons. Areas where the students converge, pass to and from school are
identified and it is necessary to establish a specialized group within the police,
(preferably young police officers who are attending schools, who will not only
patrol the areas but also pose as students) to prevent, intercept and arrest
perpetrators victimizing students. The specialized group is tasked to integrate
campus security personnel and student informants into a network for effective
crime prevention and law enforcement.
Community Support and Linkages
This system will work if the communities and the police develop a
healthy working relationship. One of the objectives of the program is to make
the policeman a vital part and regular member of the community. He can fully
integrate himself by earning the respect of the residents.
Personal Attitude
One must understand that effective crime prevention and detection rest
on the cooperative efforts between the community and local law enforcement
agency. Crime prevention starts with the community and the police developing
the proper mental attitude that commitment can make a difference. Active
involvement in Neighborhood Watch creates a positive attitude and feeling
that everybody is doing his part in ensuring safety of the community.
--end--