EDITORIAL - A win-win solution to criminality

The "Strike Three" policy that Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama intends to implement as a means to solve rising criminality in the city is as ridiculous as it is preposterous. In the policy, any three crimes that happen in a particular police jurisdiction and the failure to solve such crimes will result not only in the removal of a P2,000 allowance the city gives policemen but also the removal from Cebu City of the police station chief affected by the policy.

It is good that Rama has decided to be personally involved in the fight against crime. It is even better that he has realized it is time to get tough on policemen. But his personal and tough involvement is not all that it takes to fight crime. Even more important is to have a clear understanding of the dynamics that are in play and to apply solutions that actually work.

Clearly we do not want to propose a solution that may solve a problem in one area but then will create another problem in another area. We want solutions that will not make things even worse than they were before such solutions were proposed. And the way it looks, the "Strike Three" formula is not the solution we need. For the solution to the problem is not as easy as simply removing allowances and kicking out people. If it were as easy as that, why did no one think of that before?

The man who can stop the commission of a crime has not yet been born and never will. Not Michael Rama nor 50 thousand Michael Ramas can prevent the commission of a crime. How much more for three successive crimes. Crimes happen because nobody can read minds, much less the minds of criminals. Criminals do not telegraph their actions. Not even the United States, with its most sophisticated intelligence gathering capabilities in the world, was able to stop 9/11.

And that is why it is preposterous and ridiculous for anyone to impose a "Strike Three" policy on policemen. If that is the mindset of the mayor, then maybe he should just stop giving the allowances right now and start kicking police station chiefs out of the city because his requirements can never be met. No need to wait for the policemen to be humiliated over things they have no control of.

But the policy can still be saved by a little modification. Maybe Rama can do away with the "no three crimes committed" because that is an impossible demand. Maybe he can concentrate on the crime solution part. Maybe he can demand results that are more realistic and achievable, like imposing, say, an 80 percent solution rate. That is not an impossible demand because he will not be demanding 100 percent. But 80 percent should be high enough to at least make a dent, efficiency-wise.

Demanding a high solution rate is achievable. More importantly, it will be a giant step toward promoting police efficiency. It will be good exercise for the police. And instead of removing allowances, maybe the mayor can increase the incentives based on the achievement of the goals he has set. That is a win-win solution.