Mandaue City police respond to a hostage-taking incident during the robbery simulation exercise at a pawnshop on SB Cabahug Street. (CDN PHOTO/LITO TECSON)
THE Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO 7) staged a robbery simulation exercise yesterday at VG Star Pawnshop on SB Cabahug Street, Mandaue City to test the readiness of policemen in responding to crimes.
During the simulation exercise, eight policemen pretended to be robbers. Six of them tried to escape but was intercepted in Barangay Guizo. Two suspects who remained at the pawnshop took the employees hostage.
A trained policeman negotiated with the hostage takers. A yellow police line cordoned the crime scene and traffic enforcers manned the traffic flow.
Based on his assessment, PRO 7 Director Patrocinio Comendador said the policemen still need improvement.
During the operation, the first responders from the Mandaue Police Station 1 did not wear bulletproof vests, that’s why during the exercise they were using the police car as cover.
Senior Supt. Armando Radoc, head of PRO 7 Regional Operations and Plans Division, said there should be a trained negotiator in every police station to handle incidents like hostage taking, suicide and domestic trouble.
Radoc said the radio communication system also needs improvement.
Radoc said it took the policemen more than five minutes to respond after receiving the call for assistance.
“If we can do it in less than 5 minutes, it’s very good because if you have to look at bank robbery, it is done in less than 5 minutes,” Radoc said.
Comendador encouraged all pawnshop owners and other establishments to hire security guards and install CCTV cameras for security purposes.
Elements of Scene of the Crime Operatives, Crime Scene Investigation, Theft and Robbery Section, Mandaue Police Station 1 and Special Weapons and Tatics took part in the simulation exercise.
From the scale of 1-10, Comendador gave the simulation an 8 rating. The whole simulation exercise lasted for about 30 minutes.