Young students joining the ASEAN 2017 Youth Forum in Baguio City (PIA-CAR File Photo)
BAGUIO CITY -- Criminality can be abated and cases will be solved with the help of the big population of young people in the city serving as “human CCTV”.
The idea came from Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Federation president Levy Lloyd Orcales, who said the youth could at least report and give law enforcers vital information on crimes they know of, using available technology.
“One way to ensure that we have a part in the maintenance of peace and order is to coordinate with police," Orcales said on Monday. "It is the very least that we can do because we cannot apprehend criminals, as we are very young and it might jeopardize the safety of the young people.”
But reporting and providing information to law enforcers, using the available technology, can help, he stressed. “We can be ‘human CCTV’ because we are tech-savvy naman. Kaya pwede namin ma-inform ang mga kinauukulan (We are tech savvy anyway, so we can inform the authorities),” he said.
Orcales noted the big youth population in Baguio City, accounting for about one-fourth of the 415,000 registered residents of this mountain resort city and education hub of the Cordillera region.
“We can be part of the barangay intelligence network. We have a big say on that because of our big number. We are everywhere," the young public official pointed out.
Orcales said as part of the youth council's programs on anti-criminality and illegal drugs, the city's SK had attended a summit initiated by the National Police Commission dubbed “Barangay intelligence network training and the life skills enhancement for trainers”.
“We want to intensify the youth’s participation in the campaign for peace and order and anti-illegal drugs,” Orcales said.
He said part of the intelligence network training was how to say "no" to drugs when your peers say "yes". He added another skill taught them in the training was how to apprehend people properly without putting themselves at risk.
He said the youth could actively help keep the city peaceful, not just by avoiding being victims themselves, but by giving security to others as well.
To Orcales, the biggest challenge for the SK now is how to get the young residents to participate in community affairs.
“It is difficult, but as a start, we have been getting not less than 90 participants in every activity, which is a good number, considering that we are still new,” he said. "We need to reach all the youth because their concerns are ours, too, and we need the city to hear us.” (PNA)
