Enhanced Security Measures

October 14, 2019 Sideglance

The City of Baguio is now home to more than three hundred thousand people at any given time living in an area of only 57.51 km2 (22.20 sq mi). With this dense population concentrated in packets all around the city you can be sure that peace and order is a top priority for the local government. Under the helm of the new mayor the Honorable Benjamin Magalong a fifteen point core agenda has been established that includes “innovating peace and order condition”.

The operating word here is ‘innovating’ or the need for fresh views and ideas on how to maintain peace and order in the locality. As part of the city’s plans Mayor Magalong already made public his intention to put up an integrated command center that will not only augment efforts in the area of crime prevention thru extra vigilance and focused monitoring but also support steps towards traffic control and regulation.

On top of this the command center will likewise serve as a mechanism to buttress efforts in disaster prevention and mitigation as well as close monitoring of various areas in the barangays.

At this time and before the integrated command center will be put up steps have already been taken to prepare the 128 barangays in establishing their linkages with the said facility either thru their existing CCTVs – if up to the standards required by the installed system and infrastructure – or even through their wireless or hard-wire connectivity with the internet to provide real time access to their respective jurisdictions.

Having said this perhaps, and as a suggestion, the city can also look at the possibility of coming up with a real time map of all fix assets in the city of Baguio, whether these be residential units or buildings, commercial establishments such as dormitories, lodging houses, hotels, malls, transient houses, or even warehouses, parking facilities, storage facilities, or even the abodes of informal settlers as well as abandoned structures. If it is at all possible all of these fixed and more or less permanent structures should be electronically tagged.

Whether through radio frequency identification (RFID), GPS or some other type of electronic tagging that is available in the market, the city should consider having a real time map of all vertical structures in its jurisdiction.

The idea behind this suggestion is to provide additional detailed awareness in the soon to be established command center of all infrastructures in the city made visible through a detailed map constructed for the purpose.

This can be used in establishing easier identification and detailed information with respect to areas struck by disasters of the natural and man-made kind or augment response time in crime situations, providing detailed information to first respondents.

What is important is that the command center that will be established should be hyper-aware of its coverage area down to the minutest detail if it hopes to coordinate effective communication, monitoring and vigilance.