In the present circumstances there is only one way to put a brakes on crimes such as murder and robbery, and that is to have a continuous police presence on the ground to deter criminals.
This seems the only realistic way to try and halt such crimes for the criminals involved know that the system, in its now proven inefficiency, can do very little. They must know that the police is ever present to stop them dead in their tracks, and this can be the only recourse in the present situation, even as other rehabilitative measures work slowly.
White-collar crime is a different ballgame and has to do with more complicated issues, like can we afford to bite the hands that feed us, or how powerful are the perpetrators, or the question of professional ethics as in a recent matter, advancing our own interests or even serving that of our employers by violating the fundamentals of a profession which deals with unearthing the facts!
That is the rottenness that often belies the fa�ade of respectability or political and corporate responsibility. Solving this kind of crime is monumental, to say the least.But for the moment our concern is with the killings, rapes and robberies which, on the simplest level, can be checked by greater visibility from those charged with the duty to protect and serve.
This necessary police presence can be achieved through extra recruitment, but is it not logical to assume that another body such as the army whose function is to protect and serve, though in a different capacity, can help to provide the extra personnel required?
Of course, enabling soldiers to function in this way is a huge task, but desperate problems require desperate solutions.Concerns about the abuse of power, constitutionality and legality in such a scenario are quite legitimate, but can we not also see from these objectors a genuine concern to halt this rampant criminality by taking a bipartisan approach and working out the constitutional and other problems, difficult as they are, that seem to arise from this necessary liaison between the army and the police for the greater good of the country?
They continue to fiddle while Rome burns, but can we not for once be a little more enlightened in our thinking and show that we really care about the people, rather than become embroiled in this perennial "game of thrones?"
Dr Errol Benjamin
Phillipines