WPD cops lack basic knowledge of police work, says PLM study

Could this be the state of the nation’s police force?

A majority of the Western Police District (WPD) policemen who attended a police reorientation class at the Pamantasan ng Lunsod ng Maynila (PLM) flunked due to a lack of basic knowledge of law enforcement work.

It was also revealed that the two batches of policemen, who admittedly constitute a small fraction of the WPD, are not familiar with Manila’s ordinances and have low moral values.

PLM president Dr. Benjamin Tayabas said 171 out of 213 WPD policemen who took up the Services Induction and Reorientation (SIR) classes failed to pass, for a failure rate of 80 percent.

The SIR program was implemented by Manila Mayor Lito Atienza to all WPD personnel to improve the quality and performance of the police force in the nation’s capital.

Tayabas said the summer classes included subjects on proper investigation, history and landmarks of Manila, and values formation.

Tayabas noted that most of those who took up the summer classes were not familiar with Manila’s streets as well as its famous landmarks.

"Others do not even know the existing laws and ordinances in Manila as well as the current programs of the city government," he said.

The SIR participants also were stumped in the proper handling of an investigation and the majority flunked values formation.

Tayabas said the values formation tests revealed that the policemen were violence-prone and trigger-happy.

"The WPD hierarchy should address this startling revelation. We do not want policemen who, instead of maintaining peace and order, are the ones creating trouble," Tayabas said.

He attributed the high rate of failure in the summer classes to the recruitment program of the Philippine National Police (PNP). He noted that most of the newly recruited Manila policemen come from the provinces, which explained their ignorance of the city’s streets and ordinances.

Atienza expressed dismay with the initial results of the SIR program. "If policemen are not even familiar with their beats, how can they assist someone who is merely looking for directions?" he lamented.

WPD director Chief Superintendent Nicolas Pasinos, who was visibly irked by the results, ordered a review of the crime solution efficiency of the police force.

He also pointed out that the first two batches who took up the SIR program were only a fraction of the 3,000 personnel of the WPD.

According to Tayabas, Atienza is still optimistic the succeeding batches of SIR participants will hurdle their subjects.

"We want a higher passing rate. Those who failed should be sent to other police districts," Tayabas said.