IT looks like the local police in the City of Naga are slowly regaining their lost grounds as far as the trust and confidence of the citizenry whom they vowed to protect are concerned.

        The spate of arrests reported over the past few days by various local media outlets since P/Chief Inspector Roger Medalla took over as acting chief of police is sending a strong signal that police authorities are serious about bringing back peace and order in the streets; that drug pushers, jueteng bet collectors, robbers and cellphone snatchers should better be cooling their heels lest they end up in jail.

        With City Hall issuing them three brand new police cars, police visibility and quick response have also been noticed, making the ordinary folks feel a sense of security once again. Also noteworthy is the fact that our law enforcers are doing their beat in proper and freshly ironed uniforms, with appropriate gears and accessories to boot which are expected of every policeman worth his badge.

        Only a few weeks ago, an opposite picture was hounding both the local police force and the whole community. There was low morale among the men in uniform even as city residents and the irked media took them to task for the unabated cases of snatchings, underground shabu trading, neighborhood robberies, and unsolved high profile crimes. Members of the city peace and order council led by Vice-Mayor Gabriel Bordado were scratching their heads as they tired to hammer out solutions to increasing crime incidents. They were undoubtedly annoyed, nay scandalously shocked, by the incompetence of then City Police Chief Romeo Ranara to effectively mobilize his men against law violators. With his easily readable body language, Mayor Jesse Robredo drew the line to say that “enough is enough”; that it was time to put back the law enforcement agency into a higher morale ground and rev them up as Naga’s “finest” against crime and disorder. Upon Medalla’s temporary assumption, the mayor gave him at least three months to prove his worth. Though technically Medalla may not clinch the post because a police station demands that its chief should have at least the rank of Police Superintendent, that did not stop the mayor from pinning his hope on the police major who evidently has the full support of the whole police force which is a major ingredient in any organization, more so on one that deals with law enforcement where every member is a vital cog in the protection of every citizen’s life and properties.

        In his pep talk with the policemen recently, the mayor gave them a bit of street smart advice: policemen on the beat should not only be congratulated for the many arrests they made or for temporarily knocking down the bullies in the neighborhoods, but more so for keeping their beats or area of jurisdiction peaceful and safe where no crime or any form of public disturbance has been reported. For this task, police visibility and a regained sense of respect for men in uniform are the key.