CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) will be launching a new support unit tasked with aiding general investigators at all 11 police stations in the city in conducting criminal investigations.
This announcement was made by Police Lieutenant Colonel Janette Rafter, Deputy Director for Operations of the CCPO, who spoke to reporters on Tuesday, April 16, 2024.
According to Rafter, this new police unit will consist of 14 officers drawn from various police stations in Cebu City.
These personnel will be evenly divided into two teams: one for crimes against persons and another for crimes against property.
The responsibilities of this new support unit will include assisting general investigators at police stations, who will remain the frontline responders in each crime incident.
Rafter emphasized that Police Colonel Irene Dalogdog, the city director, specifically wants the unit to focus on conducting follow-up investigations on incidents that are sometimes neglected due to various limitations.
“This unit will also be multi-tasking but definitely, ang ilang focus is to conduct mga follow up. This unit will actively support the stations or kung asa to nahitabo,” she said.
“This is just a unit at the dispose of our city director who will immediately conduct or provide active support sa atong mga station when there are cases, especially crimes against persons and properties,” added Rafter.
She further explained that this is necessary due to their limited personnel, who may not always be able to promptly respond to all complaints, especially in stations responsible for large areas, such as the Mabolo police station.
“This is an offshoot to some incidents nga murag kana bitawng, although we could have solved it faster. But tungod sa pag-multitask bitaw sa mga pulis nga usahay naay mahitabo. Imbis naka-focus na sila diri, tawagon na pud kay naay nahitabo in-ana,” she said.
Furthermore, Rafter stated that they would establish specific parameters for when the unit will be deployed for various types of crimes, not just those driven by sensationalism or public pressure.
“Diri sa Cebu City, mao ra ba gud na ang mga prevalent nato nga crimes: robbery, theft, then mga shooting. But again, as we know, the shooting incident here in Cebu City is not discrimate,” added Rafter.
Members of this new unit are experienced and skilled personnel capable of providing the necessary support to expedite investigations.
Moreover, this additional support will alleviate some of the burden on police personnel who are often overwhelmed by the high number of incidents they address daily.
According to Rafter, they will monitor how this project impacts their operations against criminality as they continue to refine details.
“Eventually as we go along, although syempre naa pa nay mga glitches karon. But this is still a work in progress. Kung nindot kaayo ni siya, maybe we can request for the activation of the TRS (Theft and Robbery Section),” she said.
Rafter assured community members, who sometimes grow frustrated with the pace of police investigations, that this unit will significantly expedite crime-solving efforts.
A launching ceremony and blessing of the office of the new support unit will be held at CCPO’s headquarters on Wednesday, April 17.
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