TOPIC 3

Major Components of the PCJS and Their Main Functions:

Law Enforcement Pillar

This topic presents the functions and activities of the Law Enforcement Pillar of PCJS.

Objectives:

At the end of this topic, the students will be able to:

 Know the main functions of the law enforcement pillar of PCJS.

 State the goals and functions of law enforcement
 Explain the concept of police discretion

Lesson 1: The law enforcement

The law enforcers are at the forefront of the criminal justice system of the country. They are the
ones that directly deal with the citizenry and are directly exposed to the criminal elements. There is,
therefore, the necessity for the members of these law enforcement agencies to be well oriented with, and
trained in the ways of, the civil society.

Thus, the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines mandated the creation of a police agency that is
national in scope and civilian in character. Pursuant to this constitutional provision, a law was enacted
creating the Philippine National Police out of the defunct Philippine Constabulary and its civilian
component, the Integrated National Police. The said agency is charged with the duties of crime
prevention, law enforcement, preservation of peace and order, as well as the internal security of the
government under the control and supervision of the Department of Interior and Local Government. Also
performing law enforcement functions is the National Bureau of Investigation, which is under the control
of the Department of Justice. These agencies are authorized to conduct investigations of crimes, gather
evidence with respect thereto, arrest suspects and refer cases to the prosecuting arms of the government.

Within the police organizations, there are departments tasked with investigating complaints
against erring officers, and administrative tribunals that hear and decide the cases lodged against them.
The efficiency and effectiveness of these bodies help polish the image of the police organization as a
body that the people can rely on. There are also specialized agencies whose duties are to enforce special
laws relating to highly specialized matters such as immigration, tax, land, air and water transport, and
customs.

As the first pillar of the Criminal Justice System the police are considered the “initiators of
actions or the prime mover of the CJS” that other pillars must act upon to attain its goal or objectives in
the process. Their decisions essentially control or dominate the activities or functions of the other
components. In short, it is the police who “start the call-rolling” so to speak once a crime has been
committed.

The Police refer to the police agency and other law enforcement organizations authorized by the
State to enforce the law and maintain peace and order. The Philippine National Police or PNP occupies
the forefront of the police pillar. It is the premier law enforcement agency tasked by the government to
implement the law and keep the peace.

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 The PNP is supported by the National Bureau of Investigation or the NBI to help implement the
law and investigate violations thereof. To keep the peace and insure order maintenance, the PNP and the
NBI is reinforced by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency or PDEA to curb the drug problem which
has become a major law enforcement concern and a serious threat to peace and order. Because of the
similar nature of their jobs and mutually reinforcing efforts, the PNP, NBI and PDEA form part of the
triumvirate of the police pillar of the CJS.

Lesson 2: Police functions/goals of law enforcement

The role of the police is being incisively scrutinized under our modern criminal justice system
and society. It is for this single reason that it is very difficult to define with certainty the actual role of
policing that must be developed to meet the expectation and desires of the community from its police
force. Be that as it may, Charles D. Hale in his book “Police Patrol Organizations and Management”
mentions the following as the goals and objectives of the law enforcement:
1. crime prevention
2. criminal apprehension
3. order maintenance
4. public services
5. traffic regulation and motor accident investigation

Another author named Paul W. Tappan wrote in his book “Crime, Justice and Correction” cited
Professor O.W. Wilson describing 15 major functions in the modern urban police departments. They are:
1. patrol
2. traffic
3. detective
4. vice
5. juvenile
6. records and communication
7. laboratory
8. jail operation
9. maintenance
10. planning
11. inspection
12. budgets and accounts
13. personnel
14. public relations
15. intelligence

Who is a policeman?

 Policeman (common concept) - an agent of a person in authority endowed by law to enforce the
law.
 Symbolically he is the law

Two kinds of policeman

1. Traditional Policeman - a policeman walking in uniform performing patrol work. Walking

constantly and alertly, observing persons and things to accomplish crime prevention mission.

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 a. The best public servants who serve the public instead of dominating them.
b. The years of receptive policing, when the public received and welcomed the presence of the
police assigned in their neighborhood to maintain order and security, instead of imposing
purely law.
c. The years when every policeman was a good friendly, trustworthy officer of the law.
d. The years when only few rotten mangoes can be found in a basket.
e. The idealist, ideal, a lover of wisdom, who gives meaning to his duty in terms of truth,
goodness and beauty.

2. Contemporary policeman - materialistic, arrogant, college educated agent of person in authority

whose insight of public service is for the public to serve him as his source of extra income. At
the starts of his duty, he reflects not on his work, but on his prospective extra income for the day,
constantly probing, looking deeper not on the nature of things, but into the pockets of his
prospective victims. "You name it; the POLICE are in it”

The Police Functions

1. Crime Prevention
There is a misconception that to control crime is the most important function of policing. It
must be stated that crime is equally a community problem and is not just a law enforcers concern. The
citizenry must cooperate and coordinate with the police in order to curtail the increase in the crime
incidence.

2. Criminal Apprehension/Arrest – this pertains to law on arrest

Terms to ponder:
a. Arrest – is the taking of person into custody in order that he may be bound to answer for the
commission of an offense.
b. Investigation – the process or inquiring into or tracking down through inquiry.
c. Warrant of arrest - is an order in writing, issued in the name of the people of the Philippines,
signed by the judge and directed to a peace officer commanding him to arrest a person
designated.
d. Search warrant - is an order in writing, issued in the name of the people of the Philippines,
signed by the judge and directed to a peace officer commanding him to search for a certain
personal property and bring it before the court.
e. Custody – the care and control of a thing or a person. The detaining of a man’s person by virtue
of lawful process on authority
f. Custodial Investigation (custodial interrogation) – means questioning initiated by law
enforcement officers after a person has been taken into custody or otherwise deprived of his
freedom of action in any significant way. It includes the practice of issuing an “invitation” to a
person investigated in connection with an offense he is suspected to have committed without
prejudice to the liability of the “inviting” officer for any violation of law.
Note: An arrest may be made on any day and any time of the day or night.

Who May make/execute/effect arrest?

a. Police officer (in both warrantless and arrest with warrant)
b. Private individual (only warrantless arrest or citizen’s arrest)
c. Members of investigation staff of the NBI (under RA 157, as amended)
d. Bailor (may arrest the accused for the purpose of surrendering him in court)

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 e. Sheriff or deputy Sheriff (may arrest a witness who failed to attend and obey subpoena despite
proof of service thereof) (sec. 11, Rule 23)
f. Provincial or City Probation officer (may arrest probationer under his care; Sec. 24, PD 968)
g. Commissioner of Land Transportation and his Deputies (are authorized to make arrest for
violation of land insofar as motor vehicles are concerned; RA 4136, as amended)

When is Warrantless Arrest Lawful? (Instances of warrantless arrest)

Without warrant of arrest, a peace officer or private person may arrest a person;
a. When in his presence, the person to be arrested has committed an offense, actually committing an
offense, or is attempting to commit an offense. (Referred to as the in flagrante delicto rule)
b. When an offense has in fact just been committed, and he has personal knowledge of facts
indicating that the person to be arrested has committed it. (Referred to as the “Hot pursuit” arrest
rule)
c. When the person to be arrested is a prisoner who has escaped from a penal establishment or place
where he is serving final judgment or temporarily confined while his case is pending, or has
escaped while being transferred from one confinement to another.

3. Law Enforcement
In this particular function the police are in some sort of dilemma when confronted with
the options either to strictly implement the law or to be lenient in its enforcement. If the first
alternative is chosen, the police is charged of lacking understanding and sensitivity. On the other
hand, if the second choice is undertaken, they are immediately blamed for not performing their
assigned duty to uphold the law. The problem arises simply because there is no clear-cut
guideline of the policies for them to follow. More often than not the police officer merely uses
their wise and sound discretion based on their own judgment, experience and conscience.

4. Order Maintenance
This is considered a difficult responsibility of the police because of different concepts on
how it may be best maintained. There is no concrete guideline on how it may attain. An entirely
acceptable degree of social order may be acceptable in a certain society but may be fully
acceptable in another sector of society.

5. Public Service
Nowadays this function of the police has been bitterly criticized due to financial
constraints. Since the police are too much pre-occupied with this responsibility with the result
limiting their ability to combat criminality and apprehend offenders. In fact, in the training
program this police function has not been given too much importance which at times affects or
demoralizes the members of the police force.

6. Traffic Regulation and Motor Vehicle Accident Investigation

Some members of the police force entirely ignore traffic violations on the wrong
assumption that the implementation of the traffic laws is not part of their jobs. Traffic accidents
should be thoroughly analyzed regularly to know where, when and how accidents occur so that
proper preventive measures should be undertaken to avoid damages to property, injuries to
persons and loss of lives.

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Lesson 3: Police discretion

The police use of discretion - Police officers are decision makers and most of their decisions are based
on discretion.

Police discretion - Police officers exercise discretion in the performance of his duties. Considering that
there is no clear-cut guideline on this aspect of their responsibilities, the law enforcers usually act
based on his judgment, conscience and experience.

Discretion – it is “an authority conferred by law to act in certain conditions or situations in accordance
with an official’s or an official agency’s own considered judgment and conscience”.

Some discretionary practices of the police:

1. to strictly enforce the laws and ordinances

2. to be lenient in the enforcement of the laws and ordinances
3. to apply for search warrants
4. either to arrest or just warn suspects
5. to gather additional evidence or immediately file a case against the suspect
6. to follow-up cases

Lesson 4: Different Agencies under law Enforcement:

a) The Philippine National Police (PNP)

Creation/Nature/Powers and Functions

The 1987 Philippine Constitution itself mandates that there should be one police force
that is national in scope and civilian in character, and on the basis of this constitutional precept,
Republic Act No. 6975 created the Philippine National Police as the premier law enforcement
agency that has the following powers and functions:

Vested Powers and Functions of the PNP:

1. enforce all laws and ordinances relative to the protection of lives and properties;
2. maintain peace and order and ensure public safety;
3. prevent and investigate crimes, effect arrest of criminals, bring offenders to justice and assist in
their prosecution;
4. Exercise the general powers to make arrest, search and seizure in accordance with the
Constitution and pertinent laws;
5. Detain an arrested person for a period not beyond what is prescribed by law, informing the
person so detained of all his rights under the Constitution;
6. issue licenses for the possession of firearms and explosives;
7. supervise and control the training and operations of security agencies and issue licenses to
operate security agencies; and
8. perform such functions as may be provided by law.

Miscellaneous Services:

1. regulation of non-criminal conduct, such as traffic control and management

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 2. performing civic missions, such as the delivery of any person to a hospital for immediate
medication, or any other form of services which is civic in nature.

The PNP is supported by administrative and operational units. The administrative service units
consist of the Crime Laboratory, Logistics, Communications, Computer, Finance and Civil Security
Group, including the Medical, Dental, Chaplain and Legal Services. Comprising the operational support
Groups are the PNP Maritime Group, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, Special Action Force,
PNP Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Force, Aviation Security Group, Traffic Management
Group and the Police Community Relations Group.

b) National Bureau of Investigation (NBI)

- Focuses on syndicate activities and special investigations.
- The NBI had its own origin in the Division of Investigation under the Department of Justice.
Its formation was included in the provision of Commonwealth Act No. 181 dated November
1938 through the initiative of Pres. Manuel L. Quezon, Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos and
Secretary of Justice Jose Yulo. On June 19, 1947, R.A. 157 created the NBI with the
following important functions:

1. to undertake investigations of crime and other offenses against the laws of the Philippines
upon its own initiative and as public interest may require;
2. to undertake assistance, whenever properly requested, in the investigation/detection of crimes
and other offenses;
3. to give technical aid to all prosecution and law enforcement agencies as well as to the courts
that may request its service;
4. to act as a national clearing house of criminal data and other information for the benefit and
use of all prosecution and law enforcement entities in the Philippines, the identification of
records of all person’s marks, characteristics, and ownership or possession of firearms as well
as to conduct ballistics tests of bullet fired there from in the course of criminal investigation;
5. to establish and maintain an up-to-date scientific crime laboratory and to conduct research in
furtherance of scientific knowledge
6. to perform such other related functions as the Secretary of Justice may assign.

Moreover, R.A. 2678 dated 1960 expanded and reorganized the NBI by increasing its personnel
and creating additional divisions and by establishing Regional Offices.

In the modern concept of the organization, the NBI is divided into four services:

1. The General Investigation Service – this is performed by the Regional Offices together with its
sub-offices organized under the Deputy Director in line with the concept of decentralized
organization for the purpose of economy and expediency and to ease the burden of the workload
and control of the NBI Director.

2. The Special Investigation Service – this office has immediate control and supervision over the
Domestic Intelligence division, Anti-graft Division and Missing Person division. Each division
handles a specialized type of investigation, thereby relieving the General Investigation Service of
case which is highly technical and specialized in nature.

3. The General Administrative Service – this is concerned primarily with administrative matters in
the NBI logistics and Maintenance Division, training division and Accounting division.

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 4. The Technical Services – this is charged with the operation of the crime laboratory, the support
services for investigative activities and other related investigative aids.

Other Law Enforcement Agencies Tasked with the Enforcement of Special Laws:
1. Economic Investigation and Intelligence Division under the DOF
2. Bureau of customs under the DOF
3. Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources under the DA
4. Bureau of Immigration under the DOJ
5. Bureau of Internal Revenue under the DOF
6. Bureau of Forest Development under the DENR
7. Land Transportation Office under the DOTC
8. National Telecommunication Commission under the DOTC
9. Bureau of Food and Drugs under the DOH
10. Bureau of Product Standards under the DTI.