MEANING AND TASK OF POLICE

A police force is a constituted body of persons empowered by the state to

enforce the law, protect property, and limit civil disorder. Their powers include the
legitimized use of force. The term is most commonly associated with police services of
a sovereign state that are authorized to exercise the police power of that state
within a defined legal or territorial area of responsibility. Police forces are often
defined as being separate from military or other organizations involved in the defense
of the state against foreign aggressors.
Law enforcement, however, constitutes only part of policing activity. Policing
has included an array of activities in different situations, but the predominant ones
are concerned with the preservation of order. In the Criminal Justice System, the
police play the role of investigating the case in the initial stage. The most
important function of the police is to investigate any complaint that is reported in
their station
ETYMOLOGY: First attested in English in the early 15th century, initially in a
range of senses encompassing '(public) policy; state; public order', the word police
comes from Middle French police ('public order, administration, government'), in turn
from Latin politia, which is the Latinisation of the Greek (politeia),
"citizenship, administration, civil polity". This is derived from (polis),
"city"

A CLOSER LOOK TO PNP

PNP Mission
To enforce the law, to prevent and control crimes, to maintain peace and order,
and to ensure public safety and internal security with the active support of the
community.
PNP Constitutional Basis:
Section 4, Article 2 of the 1987 Constitution provides that, "... it is the
policy of the State to promote peace and order, ensure public safety and further
strengthen local government capability aimed towards the effective delivery of basic
services for the citizenry through the establishment of a highly and competent police
force that is national in scope and civilian in character".
Section 23, Chapter III, of Republic Act No. 6975, "An Act Establishing the
Philippine National Police Under a Reorganized Department of the Interior and Local
Government", or otherwise known as, "The PNP Law".
Republic Act No. 8551, "An Act Providing for the Reform and Reorganization of
the Philippine National Police and for other Purposes, amending Certain Provisions of
RA No. 6975", or otherwise known as, "The PNP Reform Act of 1998".

PNP ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

There are 23 National Support Units of the PNP. Eleven (11) of which are
administrative while twelve (12) are operational in nature. The eleven Administrative
Units are as follows:

Logistics Support Service (LSS).

Information
Service (ITMS).

Technology

Finance Service (FS).

Health Service (HS)..

Communications
(CES).

and

Management

Electronics

Chaplain Service (CHS).

Legal Service (LS).

Headquarters Support Service (HSS).

Engineering Service( ES).

Training Service (TS). and

Service

PNP
Retirement
and
Administration Service (PRBS).

Benefits

The twelve (12)

follows:

operational support

units and

their respective

functions are

as

Maritime Group (MG). This group is responsible to perform all police functions
over Philippine Territorial waters, lakes, and rivers along coastal areas to include
ports and harbors and small islands for the security and the sustainability
development of the maritime environment.

Intelligence Group (IG). This group serves as the intelligence and counterintelligence operating unit of the PNP.

Police Security and Protection Group (PSPG). This group provides security to
government vital installations, government officials, visiting dignitaries and private
individuals authorized to be given protection.

Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG). This group monitors,

investigates, prosecutes all crimes involving economic sabotage, and other crimes of
such magnitude and extent as to indicate their commission by highly placed or
professional criminal syndicates and organizations. It also conducts organized- crime
control, all major cases involving violations of the revised penal Code, violators of
SPECIAL LAWS assigned to them such as Anti-hijacking, Anti-Carnapping and Cyber crimes
among others and atrocities committed by Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP)/New
Peoples Army (NPA)/National Democratic Front (NDF).

Special Action Force (SAF). This group is a mobile strike force or a reaction
unit to augment regional , provincial, municipal and city police force for civil
disturbance control, internal security operations, hostage-taking rescue operations,
search and rescue in times of natural calamities, disasters and national emergencies
and other special police operations such as ant-hijacking, anti-terrorism, explosives
and ordnance disposal. On a special note, the PNP Air Unit is placed under the
supervision of SAF.

Aviation Security Group (AVEGROUP). This group provides security to all airports
throughout the country.

Highway Patrol Group (HPG). This group enforces the traffic laws and
regulations, promote safety along the highways, enhances traffic safety consciousness
through inter- agency cooperation concerning Police Traffic Safety Engineering,
Traffic Safety Education and Traffic Law enforcement functions and develops reforms in
the crime prevention aspect against all forms of lawlessness committed along National
Highway involving the use of motor vehicles.

Police-Community Relations Group (PCRG). This group undertakes and orchestrates

Police Community Relations program and activities in partnership with concerned
government agencies, the community, and volunteer organizations in order to prevent
crime and attain a safe and peaceful environment.

Civil Security Group (CSG). This group regulates business operations and
activities of all organized private detectives, watchmen, security guards/agencies and
company guard forces. It also supervises the licensing and registration of firearms
and explosives.

Crime Laboratory (CL).

This group
provides scientific and technical,
investigative aide and support to the PNP and other investigative agencies. It also
provides crime laboratory examination, evaluation and identification of physical

evidence gathered at the crime scene with primary emphasis on medical, biological and
physical nature.

PNP Anti-Kidnapping Group (PNP-AKG). This Group serves as the primary unit of
the PNP in addressing kidnapping menace in the country and in handling hostage
situations. And

PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP- ACG). This Group is responsible for the
implementation of pertinent laws on cybercrimes and anti-cybercrime campaigns of the
PNP.
For the main PNP operating units, there are seventeen (17) Police Regional
Offices nationwide which correspond to the Regional subdivisions of the country.
Directly under the Police Regional Offices are seventeen (17) Regional Public Safety
Battalions (RPSB), eighty (80) Police Provincial Offices which correspond to the
number of Provinces in the country and twenty (20) City Police Offices (CPOs) in
highly urbanized and independent cities , which are equivalent to a Provincial Police
Office.
The Police Provincial Offices have their respective Provincial Public Safety Companies
(PPSC) which is utilized primarily for internal security operations (ISO). The number
of platoons in a Provincial
Public Safety Company is dependent on the existing peace
and order situation in the province concerned.
Finally, a total of 1,766 Police Stations are established nationwide and they are
categorized as follows: 90 Component City Police Stations and 1,507 Municipal Police
Stations under the Police Provincial Offices, 131 Police Stations under the City
Police Offices, and 38 Police Stations/City Police Stations in the National Capital
Regional Police Office which serve as the main operating arms of the PNP for the anticriminality campaign.
Domestically, the PNP is linked with the other law enforcement agencies through the
National Law Enforcement Coordinating Committee (NALECC). This body convenes regularly
to foster cooperation and coordination among all law enforcement agencies in the
country.
It also supports several law enforcement agencies like the Philippine Center for
Transnational Crimes (PCTC) and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.
It is also linked with the International Enforcement Community thru the INTERPOL, with
the head of the PCTC as the Secretariat, and the Chief PNP as the Chief of the
National Central Bureau and a member of the ASEAN Chiefs of Police or ASEANPOL, and a
partner of the United Nations Center for International Crime Prevention (UNCICP).

THE PNP RELATIONSHIP WITH THE AFP

The PNP and AFP complement each other on their pursuit to suppress insurgency,
and other serious threats to national security and in times of national emergency
prescribed pursuant to Section 12 of Republic Act 8551.
Consequently there are also governing relationships between them as follows:
1.
The PNP enforces laws and ordinances and performs statutory functions while the
AFP exercises primary responsibility on matters involving suppression of insurgency
and other serious threats to national security.

2.
The PNP provides assistance to the AFP in insurgency affected areas while the
AFP is also responsible for the integrated territorial defense system.
3.
The PNP assists the AFP for the dispositive action on arrested, captured or
surrendered insurgent within the prescribed reglementary period.
4.
The PNP provides assistance to the AFP in the arrest of suspected insurgents
with standing warrants of arrest, and
5.
The PNP and the AFP maintain close intelligence coordination and exchanges and
share each others accomplishments of their respective mission and functions.