Why all these crimes and killings?

Who did not grieve for the students who lost their lives to cellphone thieves? And the business people who were felled by robbers' guns? Activists as well did not escape the bullets of unknown assailants. How many have also been hit and killed by vigilantes, until now unidentified and scot-free?

Almost daily, there is news about someone being killed somewhere in Cebu. Robberies seem to be highly visible too, not to mention sexual molestation of women and children.

What do these killings and crimes tell us?

Without trying to understand the problem, a common reaction to crime would be to retreat into the world of fear, distrust, and blame. In this world, everyone now looks like a possible robber, a possible rapist, and/or a possible killer. In this frame of mind, no place in Cebu is ever safe any longer. If Cebu is not safe now, will it be safe for the ASEAN Summit as well? If Cebuanos cannot feel safe here, can foreigners ever feel safe in this province as well? And rather than ask what one can do, what all can do, to maintain and restore peace and order where one is located, the game of blaming starts to roll.

Another expected reaction is to zero in only on the police and to ask why crimes seem to be increasing amid the augmentation of the police force. No less than the Chairperson of the Regional Peace and Order Council, Governor Gwen herself, made this significant observation. Shouldn't there be less crime with more police around?

It will certainly help to understand the causes, the contexts, the patterns of the crimes, and the profiles of the criminals, among others, so that a wider, more comprehensive solution can be conceptualized and implemented effectively.

Why are there so much robberies? Why the killings as well?

Each type of robbery, crime, and killing will have its own reason for being. And as each crime reflects the society that breeds the offender, then inevitably, the causes of crimes and killings will need societal reexamination.

Research can be done to understand what causes people to rob and to kill. The causes could be legion but perhaps, the legion can be summed up and categorized into major reasons. These may include drug addiction, the desire to possess affected by the accelerated consumerism propelled by glaring advertisements, the desire to bridge the wide gap between the haves and the have-nots, overall demoralization and loss of proper values related to justice and truth, problematic families, community, and societal settings, and more. Crimes are multi-faceted in nature and hence must be addressed in a multi-dimensional manner, and only through concerted, united efforts by all.

When the whys have been answered, it may help as well to analyze the context, the patterns, and the profiles of the crimes and criminals. Where are the crimes being perpetuated, when, by whom and in what settings? Are the crimes committed in darkly-lit areas where there are none or there are police personnel or stations nearby? Are the robbers and killers first time offenders or recidivists? Are the offenders from Cebu or are they migrants? Do the authorities have a database about crimes and criminals for various locations and for the province in particular?

It may also help to review and reexamine the various policies and practice that have been implemented to resolve similar crime incidents in the province and elsewhere throughout the country and the world, to see which ones are effective and which are not.

Crimes do not end when criminals are apprehended since new offenders will emerge where situations that bred previous offenders remain and continue. Going to the roots of the killings and crimes will go a longer, hopefully a more lasting way for peace and order to reign anywhere, including here in Cebu .

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