Cop squad orbits Metro

To add more teeth in its campaign against street crimes, the National Capital Regional Police Office (NCRPO) has deployed a roving 78-man team, augmented by two bomb-sniffing dogs, in crime-prone areas of Metro Manila.

Dubbed as the "Satellite Police Station" and manned by elements of the Regional Special Action Unit (RSAU), the fully armed policemen will move from one crime-prone area to another to help local police units in going after criminals lurking in the streets of the metropolis.

NCRPO chief Deputy Director Reynaldo Velasco, along with Chief Superintendent Rolando Sacramento, director of the Eastern Police District and Senior Superintendent Antonio Nanas, RSAU director, formally launched the satellite police station yesterday in simple rites near the EDSA Shrine in Mandaluyong City.

RSAU police units were later deployed to nearby SM Megamall and other shopping centers but they failed to catch a single criminal. "What you saw was just a dry-run. They will make arrest in due time," Velasco pointed out.

From the EDSA Shrine, the satellite police station proceeded to Cubao, Quezon City at noon and to the University Belt area in Manila in the afternoon.

Velasco explained that the deployment of the satellite police station would depend on the level of street crime incidents in a specific area. "They will be dispatched to areas where, crimes are frequent," Velasco said.

The police have intensified its campaign against street crimes after President Arroyo berated them two weeks ago for the rising crime in Metro Manila. She ordered them to reduce the crime rate by 20 percent within the year.

For the past two weeks, more than 100 criminals have been arrested by the NCRPO in a series of operations.

Velasco said the five police district directors and 37 station commanders in Metro Manila are currently analyzing the crime situation in Metro Manila. He ordered the police officials to submit a detailed report to his office by the end of the month.

The report, he added, will be used as basis for the future deployment of the satellite police station.