ALTERNATIVE APPROACH TO REDUCE CRIME

IN DATU HOFFER AMPATUAN, MAGUINDANAO

1. Work with your local public agencies and other organizations

(neighborhood-based or community-wide) on solving common
problems.
2. Set up a Neighborhood Watch or a community patrol, working
with police. Make sure your streets and homes are well lit.
3. Report any crime or suspicious activity immediately to the
police.
4. Volunteer to help clean up your community. Call your barangay
officials and schedule a dumpster for the event. Then pick up litter
together. Show you care about where you live and each other.
5. Organize  young people to engage in sports activity to discourage
illegal activities. Insist that your local government support the
activity.
6. Adopt a school. Help students, faculty, and staff promote a sense
of community through your involvement in a wide range of
programs and activities. Work with the school to establish drug-
free, gun-free zones if they don’t already exist.
7. Mentor young people who need positive support from adults—
through programs like Big Brothers and Big Sisters.
8. Create a community anti-violence competition. Include speech,
dance, painting, drawing, singing, musical instrument acting, and
other creative arts. Get young people involved to plan it and
suggest prizes. Make it a fun, local celebration. You can hold it in a
local park, and even include an old-fashioned potluck.
9. Support organizations that help make communities safer, like
the National Crime Prevention Council.
 The 10 Principles of Crime Prevention are:

1. Target Hardening

Making your property harder for an offender to access.

 

 Upgrading the locks on your doors, windows, sheds and

outbuildings
 Fitting sash jammers to vulnerable doors and windows
 Using secure passwords to prevent criminals hacking your online
accounts
 
2. Target Removal

Ensuring that a potential target is out of view.

 Not leaving items on view through your windows – i.e. laptops,

phones, keys, bags
 Putting your vehicle in the garage if you have one and not leaving
valuables on display
 Being cautious about what you post online as it may be used to
identify or locate you offline
 
3. Reducing the Means

Removing items that may help commit an offence.

 Not leaving tools and ladders in the garden and clearing up any
rubble/bricks
 Keeping wheelie bins out of reach, as they may be a climbing aid
or help transport items
 Making sure that bricks and rubble are cleared up

4. Reducing the Payoff

Reducing the profit the criminal can make from the offence.

 Security marking your property

 Marking your property in such a way that others will not want to
buy from the thief
 Not buying property you believe or suspect to be stolen
 
5. Access Control

Looking at measures that will control access to a location, a person or

object.

 Locking your doors and windows to both your house and your
vehicle
 Ensuring that fencing, hedges, walls and other boundary
treatments are in a good state of repair
 Putting a security system in place at a commercial site (entry
barriers, security guards, ID cards)

6. Surveillance

Improving surveillance around homes, businesses or public places to

deter criminals.

 Removing high hedges / fences at the front of your home that

allows an offender to work unseen
 Consider adding CCTV to a commercial site or public place
 Establishing a Neighbourhood Watch Scheme in your street

7. Environmental Change

Ensuring your property and wider community looks cared for.

 Ensuring that graffiti and domestic/commercial waste is cleared up

 Reporting issues with fly-tipping or broken street lights to the
relevant authority
 Working with the police and local authority to close a footpath
 
8. Rule Setting

Changing our habits by setting rules and positioning signage in

appropriate locations. 

 Introducing a rule that the last person entering / leaving should

lock the door and remove the keys
 Informing visitors to commercial sites that they must report to
reception on arrival
 Informing users that a particular site is closed between certain
times and should not be accessed
 
9. Increase the Chances of Being Caught

Increasing the likelihood that an offender will be caught to prevent crime

occurring.

 Making use of dusk to dawn security lighting is in place and in

working order
 Using good quality CCTV and/or alarm systems, especially on
commercial sites and public places
 Upgrading security to delay an offender, meaning they have to
spend more time to gain access

10. Deflecting Offenders

Deterring an offender or deflecting their intention.

 Using timer switches to make our homes look occupied if vacant

after the hours of darkness
 Running youth diversionary schemes with partner agencies
 Referring offenders to drug rehabilitation programmes
 
General Crime Prevention
“The anticipation, recognition and appraisal of a crime risk and the
initiation of some action to remove or reduce it.”
It is the philosophy of the Wilson Police Department that preventing
crime is preferable to dealing with crime after it has occurred. Crime
Prevention concentrates on the dual concept of eliminating or
minimizing criminal opportunities, whenever possible, and encouraging
citizens to be responsible for their own security and the security of
others.
If you are concerned about the security of your home or business, call
and setup an appointment for a security survey with one of our officers.
Our officers will come to your home or business and walk through the
inside and observe the outside and give suggestions (if needed) on how
to further secure your property against burglary and intrusion.
Contact Sergeant Steve Stroud, Public Information Officer, at the Wilson
Police Department at 252-399-2350 if you have questions or to set up a
security survey for your home or business.
Crime Prevention Tips:

 Make Your Home Look Occupied: Leave some lights and a radio
on when you’re out.
 Lock Your Doors: Never leave your house open for “just a
moment,” always lock your doors when you’re out.
 Use Deadbolt Locks: A deadbolt lock is a good deterrent to
burglars.
 Don’t Hide A Key Outside: Burglars know all the secret hiding
places.
 Drill And Pin Your Windows: Window locks can be jimmied; pins
cannot.
 Brace Sliding Glass Doors: If the door is braced, the only way a
burglar can get through it is to break it.
 Install Good Exterior Lighting: Motion sensor lights and other good
lights don’t let a burglar hide in the dark.
 Keep Bushes And Shrubs Trimmed: If bushes are too high,
someone hiding near your windows and doors cannot be seen.
 Stop Mail And Paper Deliveries: If you go on vacation, stop
deliveries or have one of your neighbors collect your mail and
papers.
 Get A Dog: Even a small dog may be a deterrent to a burglar.
 Install An Alarm System: Houses with alarms are avoided by
burglars.
 Check the Doors and Locks
 Make sure external doors on homes and outbuildings are solid wood or metal and
have deadbolt locks
 Use the locks
 Secure sliding glass doors with commercially available locks or a dowel in the track
to jam the door
 Insert screws in upper track of sliding doors and windows to prevent lifting panes
from the track
 Secure basement windows as well

Check the Outside

 Install bright outside lights and keep them on at night
 Keep house driveway and other buildings well lit
 Use timers that will turn them on at night
 Consider Motion sensors that set off lights or alarms
 Prune shrubbery that hide doors, windows and lights
 Keep fences in good repair
 Secure all access roads with gates or cables (stretched between cement-embedded
poles)
 Post no trespassing, no hunting, etc. signs on and around your property

Protect Equipment and Livestock

 Participate in Operation Identification (marking tools, equipment and machines with
identifying numbers)
 Work with law enforcement to determine good prevention methods and encourage
community wide use
 Tattoo all livestock (usually on ears) soon after birth
 Take regular counts of livestock
 Secure gas pumps and tanks, storage bins, grain elevators, etc. with padlocks or
deadbolts
 Keep small equipment (mowers, bikes , snowmobiles, etc.) locked in a barn or garage
 Keep guns locked and unloaded in a secure place away from children
 Never leave keys in vehicles or farm equipment
 Lock trunks and other vehicles when not in use
 Don’t leave tools in plain sight inside a vehicle or in an unsecured truck bed toolbox
 Don’t leave major equipment in a field over night

Guard your Crops

 Store harvested crops in protected and locked locations
 Consider making grain, hay or similar crops with non-toxic confetti that is easily
removed by storage or processing facilities
 Keep a record of valuable timber and materials
 Keep storage areas neat and well organized so that theft is noticed immediately
 Check employees’ references before they start and inform them of your crime
prevention measures

Help Your Neighbors

 Start or participate in a Neighborhood Farm Watch Program
 When you leave on business or pleasure, stop mail/paper delivery or have a neighbor
retrieve them daily
Community Watch
Community Watch is a Crime Prevention program that involves citizens
working with each other and with law enforcement agencies to reduce
crime and victimization in their communities. It involves:

 Citizens protecting themselves and their property by using common

sense crime prevention practices.
 Neighbors getting to know each other, watching out for each other
and acting on or reporting suspicious activities.
 Citizens working with groups, community leaders, and, more
importantly, law enforcement agencies to make entire communities
safe and free from crime.

Citizen Alert, Neighborhood Watch, Block Watch, or Community Watch: the

names may differ, but the idea is the same. Neighbors looking out for each
other!
Why Start A Community Watch?
Because law enforcement officers cannot be on every street corner, citizen
involvement is necessary to combat crime. On average, there are
approximately two law enforcement officers for every 1,000 citizens. You
and your neighbors are the ones who really know what is going on in your
community.
By cooperating with each other and with the police, citizens can help fight
crime in the most effective way – preventing the victimization of
themselves, their families and friends. You are the key element in fighting
crime. Get Involved!
How Does Community Watch Work?
The goal of COMMUNITY WATCH is to make criminals aware that every
move is being watched and will be reported to the police. Across North
Carolina, citizen’s work together to secure their homes, mark their
valuables, identify drug dealers, develop child safety programs, and
improve the environment in which they and their families live.
How To Start A Community Watch
 Contact the Police Department about setting up a Community Watch
program. They can assist with information, materials and advice.
 Schedule a meeting with your neighbors in a church, home,
community building, or other location.
 Invite an officer to speak at your original meeting to help get your
Community Watch program started.
 Contact every resident in your community and invite them to the
meeting. Do this by making door-to-door visits, phone calls, or mailing
flyers.
 Hold your meeting.
 IWASTO, WIKANG FILIPINO!
Ni: Mena Lea E. Gedoria 11-ABM

Ano nga ba ang kahalagahan isang wika sa isang bansang iyong kinagisnan at kinamulatan? Sa
Pilipinas ba ito’y tinatangkilik o binabaliwala na lamang dahil mga bagong natutunan na mga
linguwahe ng mga banyaga? Pero, alin nga ba ang mas mahalaga? Iyong sa atin ba o sa kanila?

Basi sa aking pananaliksik at obserbasyon, may mga taong nagsasabing “mahalin at tangkilikin ang
sariling atin”, oo at isang napakatumpak na kataga na dapat ay siyang ating isaalang-alang bilang isang
tunay na Filipino. Sa panahon ngayon, madaming lingguwahe na ang nakakaabot at nais matutunan ng
mga batang nasa aking kaidaran, katulad na lamang ng wilang Korean. Hindi natin maikakaila
sapagkat ito’y pansin na ng lahat na karamihan sa mga kabataan ngayon ay naaadik na sa mga ganyang
bagay lalong-lalo na kapag gustong-gusto nila ang lingguwahe. Ngunit hindi lang naman nila naiisip
na kapag mas lalo nilang mapagtuunan ng pansin ang wika ng iba ay naaapektuhan na ang wikang
kinagisnan niya. Bakit? Simple lamang ang kasagutan, sapagkat napapabayaan na nila ng wikang
Filipino at may mga oras na ito’y nagagamit na sa maling paraan.

Nasa kamay natin ang kapakanan ng ating wika dito sa ating bansa sapagkat tayo lamang ang may
kakayahan upang gamitin ito. Wika ang siyang tulay upang tayo’y magkakaugnay-ugnay. Dapat nating
isa-isip na dapat ay bigyang halaga ito dahil ito lang ang meron tayo, ito lang ang ating pwedeng
ipagmalaki sa iba. Simulan sana nating pagyamanin ang wikang ating kinagisnan simula pa noong
unang panahon. Bigyang importansiya upang ng sa gayon ay marami pa ang makinabang sa susunod
pang henerasyon. Nais kong bigyan ng pansin ang mga taong patuloy na tinatangkilik ang sariling
wika sa ngayong kapanahunan dahil akin talagang masasabi na sila’y may pagtitiwala sa kanilang wika
ay higit sa lahat sila ay saludo sa sariling nilang kayamanan. Ang kalagayan ng wika sa ngayong
kapanahunan ay masasabi kong unti-unti ng naisasaayos sapagkat ang mga guro sa paaralan ay patuloy
na pinapairal at pinapaintindi sa mga estudyante na ang wikang atin ay makakatulong sa atin upang
intindihin ang mga bagay-bagay na tayo lamang ang siyang kayang umimtindi gamit ang sarili nating
wika. At ako rin ay nag iiwan ng isang katagang “wika natin, ating pagyamamin sapagkat ito’y
sumasalamin sa pagiging isang tunay na Filipino natin”.