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TITLE:

NEED-ASSESSMENT FOR THE DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A

LONG-TERM COMMUNITY-BASED PNP-CRIME PREVENTION
PROGRAM IN Angeles City, ZAMBALES

INTRODUCTION

The government is faced with various formidable social problems and

concerns. One of these problems is criminality, which affects all parts of the country

and every aspect of community life. It is imperative to recognize criminality as a

complex matter. Its causations are numerous and its trends are difficult to ascertain. It

proliferates with the acceleration of change and development and is magnified when

this process is accompanied with the negative impact of population growth,

unemployment and rapid urbanization.

The problem of criminality is aggravated by the popular perception that crime

is a very narrow sphere of behavior. In reality, there is no single formula and theory

that can explain the vast range of criminal behavior. A criminal could be a shoplifter

stealing goods from a grocery store, a pleasant young man who suddenly and

inexplicably murders his family or a gun-for-hire who brutally assassinates a

government official.

By explaining the aspirations of this study, it thus encourage and motivate the

people of the community to become involved in making the the city of Angeles,

specifically in the Luzon part of the Philippine archipelago, a place where violence is

considered an aberration, where children, young people, adults and communities no

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longer face the challenges that violence and crime present in the present time and

years to come.

Good and effective governance is vital to economic growth and poverty

alleviation. The elimination of graft and corruption is a major objective of the

administration, as is the introduction of simple, fair, transparent and predictable rules

that aid in the fight against corruption.

It is the vision of the city government to become a progressive city where

empowered citizenry shares the abundance of environmentally-sustainable economy,

living in harmony with high sense of moral value anchored on love of God and

country. Its mission is to pursue equitable socio-economic growth and sustainable

development through inspired leadership along with its dedicated and honest public

servant working together with all sectors of society towards the attainment of the

vision.

The Local Government goals is to ensure and promote the general welfare and

safety of the people, enhance people’s right to balance ecology, improve economic

prosperity and social justice, and preserve the comfort the convenience of the citizen.

As a result, the number of criminal law offences known to police began falling

and continued on a downward trend in the past previous years. While this testifies

that Philippines’ public safety situation has been steadily improving, the traditional

crime control function of Philippine society has not fully recovered. For instance, a

series of crimes that victimize women, children, the elderly and other vulnerable

members of society have been occurring, causing deep anxiety to citizens’ daily lives.
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In addition, the globalization of crime, including the operation of criminal syndicates

on a global scale, poses a new threat to society.

For these reasons, we consider that the restoration of public safety in the city

of Angeles covering all of its barangays is still a job half done.

In the previous years of peace-keeping and crime-prevention, the local

community solidarity and ties, as well as people’s strong sense of social norms,

played a vital role in deterring crime and maintaining public safety in the City of

Angeles and in the whole nation in general. These social ties and norms have since

weakened, and, unless they are revived, full restoration of public safety is not

possible. At present, Philippine police are vigorously implementing variously policy

measures geared towards creating a crime-resistant society, as well as doggedly

pursuing the revival of community and social ties.

Although differing in degree, they present elements of surprise and

devastations beyond one’s coping capabilities. In practical terms, the overriding need

is for an accurate and precise focus at the requirement of any given level of

government. Consequently, local government units (LGUs) that are charged with

these sorts of responsibilities have to deal with wide range of policy, planning,

organizational operation and other matter in order to prevent or minimize the

incidence of crimes and strengthen the maintenance of peace and order starting with

the local communities of each municipality in a particular province.

And it is for this important reason in the implementation of a particular crime

prevention projects and programs that alleviates the keeping of peace and order that
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are best suitable in a local municipal setting that this research study was proposed by

the proponent of this venture.

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

This study was conceptually based on the notion that peace is ultimately

maintained and crime is surely minimized in an environment where the residents of

local communities, local government agencies and the police force are in sync with

each other both in ideals, principles and the implementation of a particular program

that fights crime and maintain peace and order. In recent years, however, evidence

has accumulated to show that it is not how many police there are that makes a

difference for crime control, it is what they do. And what seems to be especially

important for police is for them to focus on risk, especially high-risk places, times,

situations, and people. In the United States over the past two decades, there has been

an extraordinary amount of experimentation and reform in policing strategies and

tactics, and the most effective of these “police innovations” work because they focus

on high-risk areas (Weisburd and Braga 2006).

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Figure 1: Conceptual Design in Strengthening the Relationship of the PNP with Major Players in the

Local Communities

Thus, in Figure 1, as shown above, illustrates that a major key in the

successful realization of peace and order is the successful integration of policing

strategies, principles and relationships with the agents playing key roles in a

community setting. In is shown that policing extends far beyond the “law

enforcement” and “peacekeeping” activities that constitute the core of the police role

in most academic accounts of what police do. If we are to make more progress in

understanding why a particular place is a low crime society, then perhaps it is needed

to stop thinking about the police as merely or mostly a law enforcement agency, and

start thinking about them as the central node in a far-flung crime-control network.
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Alternatively, we might regard the police as being like a film director who

plays a central role in production but whose most crucial activities involve planning,

instruction, coordination, facilitation, motivation, and mobilization (Brodeur, 2010).

It shall therefore be considered in this study, that in the strategies that shall be

used in the framing of a PNP crime-prevention program to be implemented in the

City of Angeles, the primary function of police works and actions for such matter

shall be instilling appropriate behavior and disciplines to the residents of the local

community by working hand-in-hand with the key players of the local community.

Such idea shall be illustrated in Figure 2, as shown below:

Prodding
Guiding

Alerting

Successful Implementation of PNP

Community-based Crime
Prevention Program

Figure 2: Conceptual Design Municipality-based Police Function

According to Bayley (2017), “the primary function of the police is not

deterrence; it is crime prevention through enhancing the capacity of the society to

discipline itself”. In addition, Bayley (2017) believes the police do this in three

overlapping ways: by prodding, guiding, and alerting the public.

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There are at least three ways in which policing in the Philippines that this

study is based. First, for many if not most offenders, formal sanctions matter less than

informal sanctions do. The police in the nation—and Philippine institutions of

criminal justice more generally—often rely on informal controls, which may well be

more effective than reliance on formal and legal ones. Reliance on informal controls

also reflects the fact that criminal justice officials are more inclined than their

American counterparts to treat formal arrest and punishment as costs, not benefits

(Kleiman. 2009). For those who believe that there should be limits to the criminal

sanction, this is a good thing.

Secondly, paying attention to what matters to offenders means recognizing

that the dynamics within groups, networks, and communities may have an especially

strong deterrent influence on the perceptions and behavior of offenders. Which is to

say, particular people (parents, friends, employers, teachers) and particular ideas—

that one should not cause trouble to people one cares about, or that one should reflect

on one’s own conduct—may have an especially strong influence on offenders’

behavior. In the Philippine setting, police and other institutions of criminal justice

frequently try to intervene with those people and around those ideas.

Finally, human beings are quintessentially “moral animals” as well, that their

behaviors are shaped by social norms that are both external to and coercive on them

and that also are a part of their own internalized value systems. It is, therefore, a

major mistake to treat real and potential criminal offenders as value-free “rational

calculators” of the costs and benefits of different courses of conduct. Offenders—

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even serious ones—can be reached and influenced through deliberate moral

engagement (Kennedy 2009), and this is frequently tried and sometimes

accomplished in criminal justice. Indeed, one does not have to spend much time

around criminal justice officials in order to perceive how much more central this

conviction—that humans are not merely social animals, they are moral ones as well—

is to their counterparts in American criminal justice. In particular, the police in

Philippines perform tasks related to public morality much more often than people are

used to in the West. Thus, in addition to this important notion, this study shall

consider that the Philippine police officer(s) should act with the aura of a teacher

shaping conduct to conform to community standards”.

In terms of this study’s research methodologies and basing on the data

gathered by the Local Government, Angeles City (locale of the study) has a total

projected population greater than 100,000 individuals. The targeted clients comprise

less than 5% of the threshold populace, that is, about local respondents shall be used

in the study.

In order to respond to the needs and problems of the entire populace, the

municipal government organized its instrumentalities to hasten the delivery of

effective basic social services to its constituents.

The conceptual framework covers the sex, age, educational attainment, ethnic

group, monthly family income, occupation, number of dependents and residence. It

also includes the survey and evaluation of the proposed crime-prevention program of

the local PNP units in Angeles City.

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PARADIGM OF THE STUDY

Input Process Output

I. Profile of the Respondents

Improve Living
1.1 Sex Condition and Safety
1.2 Age of Residents of
1.3 Educational Attainment Angeles City,
1.4 Ethnic Group
1.5 Monthly Family Income
Zambales
1.6 Occupation
1.7 Number of Respondents Successful
1.8 Residence Restructuring and
Unstructured Design of a
Interview Community-based
II. Crime Prevention Program Survey Crime Prevention
Areas Observation Program
 Personnel and Human
Survey-Questionnaire Minimization of
Resources
 Public Administration and
Criminal Incidence
Program Enactment and Attainment of a
 PNP-Community Crime-free Society
Partnership
 Organizational Long-Term
Management, Administration and
Supervision and Realization of a
Leadership Model Crime-
 Social Records and Statistical Treatment Prevention
Confidentiality Community Program
 Setting Directions, in Association with
- Percentage
Program Strategies,
- Weighted the Peace and Order
Evaluation and Feedback
Mechanics Average Mean Policies of the
 Community Acceptability - Chi Square Test National
and Public Trust Government and the
 Criminal Rehabilitation, Philippine National
Maintenance of Peace Police
and Order and Public
Safety

Figure 3: Paradigm of the Study

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OBJECTIVES:

This study aimed to find out the perception of local residents of Angeles City

as basis for program implementation and design and prioritization of policies that

shall be considered in framing a city-based PNP Crime Prevention Program.

Specifically, it seek the answer to the following questions

1. What is the profile of the respondents in terms of:

a.Sex

b. Age

c.Educational Attainment

d. Ethnic Group

e.Monthly Family Income

f. Occupation

g. Number of Dependents

h. Residence

2. How is the level of needs assistance of local residents of Angeles City be

described in terms of:

a. Personnel and Human Resources

b. Public Administration and Program Enactment

c. PNP-Community Partnership

d. Organizational Management, Supervision and Leadership

e. Social Records and Confidentiality

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f. Setting Directions, Program Strategies, Evaluation and Feedback

Mechanics

g. Community Acceptability and Public Trust

h. Criminal Rehabilitation, Maintenance of Peace and Order and Public

Safety

3. Is there a significant difference on the needs assistance of the local

indigent residents of Angeles City when grouped according to variables

cited in problem number 1?

SIGNIFICANCE

The planning stages of the community need-assessment process begin with the

identification and analysis of problems. Once these needs are defined, the local

administrator or municipal planners’ projects what condition does she wants the

community to achieve. This will bring her to the next phase of setting the goals and

objectives of the plan. It will serve as guide to the implementers’ effort. A goal leads

to a desired end. The desired end maybe a total change improvement or maintenance

of a situation it is directed towards implementation of the City-based Crime

Prevention Program of the Angeles City PNP unit as being identified in a pre-

assessment survey to local residents of the city. They are considered as planned end

point of all activities.

Objectives are concerned with the identification of suitable policing policies

and strategies suitable to a rural and sub-urban community setting.

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Specifically, the researcher considered this study to be beneficial to the

following:

The Local Community Residents. The result of this study may prove to be

beneficial to the local residents for this may serve as a guide to determine their needs.

The Local Officials. To constantly remind of their responsibility to the and

the municipality as a whole. This study will also serve as their agenda in planning.

The findings of this study will serve as initial information for the planning of

public policies and programs that will help for the implementation of government

programs and to increase the level of cooperation of the concerned public.

The Local Government Units. To identify the strength and weaknesses in the

delivery of services to the people. It also serves as baseline information to enhance

the services catered to the clienteles.

The Non-Government Organizations. To tie up with local government to

effectively carry out projects. This will also help them to strengthen their linkage with

other non-government organizations who can provide help to the people with

different needs.

The Community. This study will enlighten them of how to improve

themselves.

Through the findings of this study, they will become aware of the different

factors that determines their satisfaction and performances not only the financial or

monetary aspect. The analysis of their inputs on the determinants may lead to the

improvement of their work performances or higher productivity. The findings also

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serve as baseline information for the determination of factors that must be considered

the most serious based on the department’s strengths and weaknesses which can be

seen and analyze from their responses.

RESPONDENTS

This study shall make use of five hundred residence of selected barangays in

Angeles City. The researcher of this study have made used of the following variables

as related to the profile of the respondents: Sex, Age, Educational Attainment, Ethnic

Group, Monthly Family Income, Residence, Occupation, and Number of Dependents.

Data collection was scheduled for two weeks time in the last week of January

to the end of the first week of February 2024. There was a 100% retrieval of data

mainly due to the properly-coordinated actions made by the researcher to the

barangay officials as identified in each barangay of Angeles City. The questionnaire

was used as a means for gathering data from the respondents. Hence the distribution

of these questionnaires was also supplemented by series of interviews, observations,

and analysis on the social-needs of such public concerned.

Data that were gathered were classified, tabulated, statistically arranged and

treated for descriptive interpretations. Measurements, such as: the mean, average

weighted means, standard deviations, and the like were considered by the researcher

of this study in making inferential description of the data that are considered to be

essential in the tasked for accepting hypothesis that was set prior to the conduct of

this study.

SAMPLING TECHNIQUE
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This study shall make use of convenience random sampling. This type of

sampling will be used to ensure the availability of all resources just like that of the

researcher and that of the sample respondents shall be representative of the residents

from the different barangays.

INSTRUMENT

The main data gathering to be used is the questionnaire. This shall consist of

Two Parts:

Part I – contains the Profile of the Respondents

Part II - contains Inquiry on the PNP Crime Prevention Program for the

local residents of Angeles City