Makati gets 350 cops to curb street crimes

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine National Police (PNP) is allocating 350 additional personnel to Makati City after Mayor Jejomar Erwin Binay Jr. asked for more lawmen to address the upsurge of street crimes in the country’s financial district.

The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) will assign 346 rookie police officers and four crime registrars from its 2014 recruitment quota to the Makati police, said PNP public information office director Chief Superintendent Reuben Theodore Sindac.

The deployment is meant to boost the “operational capability” of the city’s 548-strong police force, he said, adding that there are 117 NCRPO police officers who serve as part of team to augment the Makati police force.

In a letter Binay wrote to PNP chief Director General Alan Purisima two weeks ago, he said criminals are getting bolder and more ruthless.

Last Monday, robbers shot a 66-year-old messenger who was about to deposit P100,000 in Palanan.

At present, Sindac noted Makati has a current population of 529,039 and a police to population ratio of 1:796, with an estimated transient daytime population of 4.7 million concentrated in the city’s central business district.