Peña to public: Cooperate to curb cell phone snatching

Metro Manila police chief Deputy Director General Romeo Peña called yesterday for public cooperation in curbing the growing cases of cellphone snatching.

Peña emphasized that the public’s help, augmented by a police visibility campaign, would eventually curb cellphone snatching, which happens inside passenger jeepneys and buses or on sidewalks and parking lots of shopping malls and commercial centers.

"The police are doing their job well against cellphone snatching but with the public’s cooperation, we would go a longer way," said Peña in a telephone interview.

Police records show that there are at least 592 cases of cellphone snatching reported all over the country for the first half of the year.

Some 256 cases happened in Metro Manila but Peña said 226 of them were solved and the suspects are presently languishing in various detention centers.

According to Peña, one way of combatting cellphone snatching is for the public not to buy the stolen items.

The public can easily determine whether a cellphone being sold is stolen because it is offered at a low price and has no accompanying charger nor supporting document to prove its legality.

"If the public stops buying stolen cellphones, then these snatchers will have no more reason to pull off the robberies," said Peña.

He warned buyers that they can be charged under the anti-fencing law.

A cellphone costing between P6,000 and P10,000 is sold at a lowly P3,000 by cellphone snatchers, who are mostly drug dependents, police said.

Peña also called on the public not to display their cellphones and its parts while inside passenger jeepneys and buses because it could attract the attention of snatchers.

"Minsan kasi mayabang din ‘yong may-ari kaya’t panay ang display ng cellphones nila. Tapos kapag naagaw na pulis ang sinisisi," he lamented. – Non Alquitran