Sta. Barbara cops zero in on petty crimes
STA. BARBARA—The local police here is looking into petty crimes seriously.
Superintendent Eric Noble, the town police chief who recently published a manual for cops based on United Nations standards, said he has instructed his men to draw a list of all those who have been repeat offenders of petty misconducts.
The names, to be grouped per barangay, will be posted on a pasaway scoreboard through which the police can monitor their conduct.
“This pasaway list will also serve as a deterrent in the commission of crimes as he or she might become the laughing stock in his or her barangay if he doesn’t shape up,” Noble said in an interview with The PUNCH.
Pasaway is a popular Filipino jargon referring to a person who is repeatedly reprimanded from misdemeanors. It comes from the root word “saway”, which means to reprimand.
Noble said the pasaways include drunkards who provoke fistfight, community bullies, or otherswho are kept under police custody overnight but are released the following day because the minor offenses are usually settled amicably with the offended party.
“If we will not do something that will make them feel shame, then nothing will happen and they might turn for the worse thinking it’s all right to be a nuisance in their community,” he said.
Those who will continue to be on the scoreboard will be required to undergo counseling by the police with help from a non-government organization.
Noble said pasaways could also reform their notorious image in the community by helping lawmen in community service projects like tree planting, anti-drug abuse drives, and their Feed, Read to Lead Program.#
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