• THERESA MAE DULMAN
Residential subdivisions in Bacolod City have become the primary target of burglars, the Bacolod City Police Office said and urged gated communities to tighten security.
BCPO director, P/Col. Eugene Rebadomia, confirmed that most recent crime reports involved break-ins in private residential areas.
“If you look at these incidents, they happened at houses inside the subdivision. Right now, we do not have reports in our main city, so we will increase the patrolling of our police officers in the inner areas,” Rebadomia said.
He appealed to homeowners and security agencies to reinforce safety measures in subdivisions and advised security guards to conduct regular roving patrols rather than simply monitor main entry gates and verify the identities of visitors and reasons for such visit before granting them access to gated communities.
He urged security personnel to systematically profile and log all individuals entering and leaving the subdivision, particularly non-residents.
“A reminder to residents of Bacolod: Check before leaving the house. If you have a CCTV, check if it is working, make sure it functions and is not just for show, because a CCTV is a huge help in identifying suspects,” Rebadomia appealed.
He also cautioned against posting complaints only on social media, which do not count as formal reports as it prevents the police from tracking patterns, starting official investigations, or catching the perpetrator/s. | TMD
