POLICE/ LAW ENFORCEMENT PILLAR

POLICING

The history of the police service is as old as an organized society. Man has always need protection
from animals, and then from his own kind. His first attempt to protect himself and his daily activities
involves barricading the entrance to its cave.

As man multiplied, they grouped together in one community and protection developed into a
community affair. Warfare has always been a part of a man’s social history and since each community
has warriors to carry out the task of war, the duties of police protection usually involved night patrols of
soldiers about the town or city, and at major points within the same town or city.

The key development of policing is closely associated with the congestion of population. Where the
population is spare of spare out, the justification and need for a police patrol becomes greater.

Policing can be traced back to the cave dwellers, who were expected to follow certain rules or face
banishment or death. The customs depicted in early cave dwelling may represent the beginning of law
and law enforcement.

The prehistoric social order consisted of small family groups living together as tribes or clans. Group
living gave rise to customs everyone was expected to observe. The tribe’s chief had executive,
legislative and judicial powers and often appointed tribe members to perform special tasks to include
guarding the community against depredation or lawless elements.

Crimes committed by individuals were handled by the victim or victim’s family. The philosophy of
juice was retaliatory, that is, the offender must be punished. Punishments were harsh and barbaric. For
serious offenses, punishment includes death penalty carried out by beheading, hanging, drowning,
crucifixion, banishment, social degradation, slavery and many more. The world of the tribe’s chief was
considered the laws.

After so many years of unorganized and barbaric policing system, the modern limelight came
when a bill creating the Scotland Yard was passed by the parliament of England. It was sponsored and
expanded by sir Robert Peel who was made the first head of the police organization. He was referred to
as the Father of the Modern Policing System due to his contributions in the modernization of the police
force.

PEEL’S PRINCIPLE
 1. To prevent crime and disorder, as an alternative to their repression by military force and
severity of legal punishment.
2. To recognize always that the power of the police to fulfill their functions and duties is
dependent on public approval of their existence, actions and behavior, and on their ability to
secure and maintain public respect.
3. To recognize always that to secure and maintain the respect and approval of the public
means also the securing of the willing co-operation of the public in the task of securing
observance of laws.
4. To recognize always that the extent to which the co-operation of the public can be secured
diminishes proportionately the necessity of the use of physical force and compulsion for
achieving police objectives.
5. To seek and preserve public favor, not by pandering to public opinion, but by constantly
demonstrating absolutely impartial service to law, in complete independence of policy, and
without regard to the justice or injustice of the substance of individual laws, by ready offering
of individual service and friendship to all members of the public without regard to their
wealth or social standing, by ready exercise of courtesy and friendly good humor, and by
ready offering of individual sacrifice in protecting and preserving life.
6. To use physical force only when the exercise of persuasion, advice and warning is found to
be insufficient to obtain public co-operation to an extent necessary to secure observance of
law or to restore order, and to use only the minimum degree of physical force which is
necessary on any particular occasion for achieving a police objective.
7. To maintain at all times a relationship with the public that gives reality to the historic tradition
that the police are the public and that the public are the police, the police being only
members of the public who are paid to give full-time attention to duties which are incumbent
on every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence.
8. To recognise always the need for strict adherence to police-executive functions, and to
refrain from even seeming to usurp the powers of the judiciary of avenging individuals or the
State, and of authoritatively judging guilt and punishing the guilty.
9. To recognise always that the test of police efficiency is the absence of crime and disorder,
and not the visible evidence of police action in dealing with them.

THE POLICE AS FRONTLINERS

POLICING IN THE PHILIPPINES

In the Philippines, policing during the Spanish Regime was inherently a part of the military system.
The locally organized police forces, although performing civil duties and seemingly created for the sole
purpose of maintaining peace, were in fact directly commanded by the colonial military government.

Police forces organized during the Spanish regime:

1. Carabineros de Seguridad Publico ( Mountain Police) 1712

- Organized for the purpose of carrying out the policies of the Spanish government.
2. Guardrilleros – January 8, 1836 , created the by the Royal Decree
3. Guardia Civil – ( February 12, 1852) a police organization created by the Royal Decree issued by
the Spanish Crown government.

Japanese Regime

Kempetai – a Japanese Police tasked to maintain peace and order in Manila. The Manila police which
was created during the first American occupation, was renamed into the Metropolitan Constabulary
under rhe Bureau of Constabulary. Kempetai ruled over the urban areas until Gen, Douglas McArthur
returned on February 7, 1945.

American Occupation

1. Insular Police Force (November 30, 1890) 1898- 1901)

2. Another Insular Force (July 18, 1901) by virtue of Act #175 entitled “An act providing for the
organization and government of an insular constabulary.
3. Manila Police Department – July 31, 1901
Capt. George Curry- chief of Police
4. Philippine Constabulary- October 2, 1901 formally established.
Capt. Henry T. Allen- first chief of the Philippine Constabulary.
- PC was manned mostly by Filipinos but officers were mostly Americans.
5. National Bureau of Investigation- June 19,1947 R.A. 157 was enacted which created the NBI.
6. R.A # 4864- known as the Police Act of 1966 was enacted September 18, 1966
- Later called the National Police Commission under the office of the president. Originally, the
POLCOM was created as a supervisory to the agency to the PC.
- Its function is to oversee the training and professionalization of the local police forces.
Through this law, reformation and professionalization of the police service gained official
recognition.
7. Presidential Decree #7655- ( August 8, 1975)
 - Was enacted and stipulated that the office of the Napolcom should be under the office of
the Ministry of National Defense. It also defined the relationship between the Integrated
National Police and the Philippine Constabulary.
8. Republic Act # 6975 – (December 13, 1990)
- Known as the DILG Act of 1990 and was recognized as the PNP Law of 1991 This law was
created the Philippine National Police and declared it to be the only police force of the
country with national scope and civilian in character.
9. R.A. #8551 – February 25, 1998
- Known as the PNP Reform and Reorganization Act of !998, reorganized the PNP for the
purpose of reforming or professionalizing it.

POLICE AS FRONTLINERS

The police or law enforcement pillar occupies the frontline of the CJS because they are regarded
as the initiator of the system. They are the first contact of the law violator in the CJS process. It is the
police that investigates, arrest, and prepares evidences against the suspect needed in the prosecution.

Law enforcement pillar is made up mainly of the:

 Philippine National Police ( PNP)

 National Bureau of Investigation (NBI)
 Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA)
 And those units in the different agencies having the power to enforce laws.

CONCEPT OF POLICE/ LAW ENFORCEMENT

Police / law enforcement pillar is a bracnch of the criminal justice system that has the specific
responsibility of maintaining law and order and combating crime within the society. The duties almost
invariably assigned to police departments in most democratic nations are:

1. protection of life and property,

2. preservation of the peace,
3. prevention of crime,
4. detection and arrest of law violators
5. enforce the law
6. safeguard the rights of the individuals
7. control vehicular traffic
8. prevent and suppress vices

The word police originated from the Greek word POLITEIA – meaning government of a city. It is applied
to civil officer and not necessarily policemen.

Romans changed the word slightly POLITIA.

French changed it to POLICE- applied to person who enforce law.

English and Americans borrowed the word POLICE and used it to describe Law enforcer

POLICE ROLES AND FUNCTIONS IN THE SOCIETY

Basically, the role of the police in the society is crime prevention, which is the main goal of the CJS.
As the most visible symbol of the CJS. The presence of uniformed policemen gives a feeling of security
to the law abiding citizen and casting of fear to the would be violator. Order maintenance and
peacekeeping is the ultimate goal of police or law enforcement. Breakdown in peace and order means
breakdown of the entire CJS.