What We Need to Know About Peace and Order

Last week, the Peace and Order Council held its second regular meeting, tackling the issues affecting public safety.

According to the report of the PNP, its units arrested high value targets such as Gemuba Librada, Romeo Boyles, Macario Tomo, and Virgilio Sarte, Jr.. In response, the council proposed to commend the unit responsible for this Yeoman service through the Sangguniang Panlalawigan.

Governor Aris Aumentado, chairman of this council, presented the surrender of Elizar Nabas, a member of the New People’s Army. In his surrender, he receives housing and livelihood benefits from the government, as well as psychosocial debriefing for reintegration.

Peace and order scenario

Of all the crimes reported, only involvement with illegal drugs has increased by 3 percent while gambling, loose firearms, child abuse, cyber-crime, illegal fishing, and forestry act offenses decreased, based on the data from January 1 to October 25, 2022.

From January 1, 2021 to August 2022, crime incidents went from 3,997 to 3,535 or dropped by 11.56 percent. In the same period, theft (171 recent cases) and physical injuries (159 recent cases) topped the eight (8) focus crimes which also includes robbery (50 recent cases), rape (44 cases), murder (28 cases), motor napping (21 cases), and homicide (9 cases).

Of the eight (8) focus crimes in the same period, the highest unsolved crimes are murder (39.3 percent), robbery (18 percent), and theft (9.4 percent).

From the data, our province is a relatively peaceful province compared to its neighbors. But we cannot be lenient.

Towards solutions

Rebellion had once infested the province. These days, according to the military report, only ten NPAs are active. Law enforcers insist we are still insurgency-free. Yet, if rebels are actively operating, this is a matter of concern. We do not care about whether one can label us “insurgency-free” or otherwise. The problem exists. It lingers even if minimal. And that’s the issue.

The most effective way of solving the problem of rebellion is by demonstrating the local government’s sincerity in reaching out to the people in remote areas. The province of Bohol continues its programs to engage and help those who need social and health services and livelihood projects. Examples of its initiatives include Civic Action programs for Sitio Pasto, barangay San Isidro, Mabini; and Behind the Clouds, Batuan.

What about drug abuse?

Drug-related cases are not only a pain point among Boholanos as they also bother the entire country. We can effectively curb drug abuse by intensifying the propaganda against it in our schools and homes. Schools should establish educational and propaganda measures to fight this menace to promote awareness among students and prevent many from going to the deadly lure.

Churches should also intervene. They should intensify their discipleship programs so that those they reach will develop a stronger spiritual foundation — one which determines citizens’ values.    

The broken windows explain

The Tipping Point book by Malcolm Gladwell discusses the broken window theory in explaining why crimes worsen.  According to the theory, visible signs of disorder and misbehavior encourage more disorder and misbehavior or crimes (source: psychologytoday.com). It is a metaphor describing disorder in an environment which goes unattended. The idea contends one broken window leads to more broken windows.

The theory explains why crime rates shoot up and went down in New York City. In 1992, the city recorded 2,154 murders and 626,182 serious crimes. But something strange happened. After five years, murders dropped to 770 (64.3 percent decrease), while serious crimes went down to 355,893.

“There was a time when it wasn’t uncommon to hear rapid tire, like you would hear somewhere in the jungle in Vietnam,” says Inspector Edward Messadri, head of the police precinct in Brownsville. “I don’t hear the gunfire anymore.”

Based on this case, population demographics did not significantly explain the drop in criminality. What lowered the crimes in New York City was the penalties imposed for minor crimes like vandalism. By discouraging petty misbehavior, crimes also declined significantly.

We need to repair the broken window first before we can deter more misbehavior.

According to Gladwell, society should treat minor offenses first before it can eradicate serious crimes. Therefore, interventions must first deal with insignificant offenses like vandalism and drunken misbehavior before we curb drugs or homicide.

Reflecting from the broken window theoretical explanation, we should strive to educate parents on how to raise children with love and care. The province can also help by legislating against drunken quarrels or rage.

Our province continually seeks how to maintain our peace and order.

Our peace and order situation also depends on how our civil society shapes our values. If schools, churches and homes deliberately establish a firm foundation, we will become like trees planted beside rivers. We will not dry up from the right nourishment to become productive and exemplary citizens.

Strong values deter crimes and harmful behaviors. With strong spiritual values, we can attain a more peaceful province.