Home >> History, Ideology & Science >> Governance & Conspiracies

     Email   Print 

Community Policing and Wealth Building

John Mangun - 3/1/2005

I am a product of the First World. By education and experience, I exemplify all that the First World created in the last half century. And I am its prodigal son who gladly left to spend that inheritance somewhere else. I am a citizen of the Third World. For nearly half my life as its adopted child and as both an observer and active participant, countries like the Bahamas, Fiji, Morocco, the Philippines are my home.

It makes no sense when one views the great disparities of human economic condition. There seems to be no rational reason for the world to be so unevenly divided between rich and poor. A nation with virtually no natural resources like Japan is wealthy, while a nation with the some of the largest proven gold reserves in the world, the Philippines, mires in poverty. Technology and information is freely available worldwide to almost all, particularly in the age of the Internet and the global community.

It is true that most Third World nations are young, with little comparative time to develop strong institutions as in the First. However, there are notable exceptions. Malaysia is not a poor country and yet in its present state, it is a new nation. South Korea faced war's devastation only a generation past.

The "why" of the great divide between rich and poor is a comparatively new question. For all their errors of reasoning and other basic fallacies, we have Marx and Engels to thank for attempting to describe and seek an answer to this problem. Their idea that the solution could be found in changing the system was correct. However, they viewed wealth as a win/lose situation: a limited amount of wealth could only go to one person or another, not to both. In prosperous and vibrant economies, the system creates a win/win scenario in that all are recipients of the benefits of almost unlimited wealth creation.

A new book published in the Philippines shows the practical application of the social model and governance strategy first formulated by Peruvian economist Hernando de Soto. This book shows how that model was rationally applied to Philippine law enforcement and in effect provides a blueprint for the Third World to solve the specific problems created by poverty, which will in the end reduce that poverty. This book ought to be required reading for Third World officials and leaders.

"Community Policing: Pathway to Good Governance" is written by Ricardo F. de Leon, currently a three-star general and police Deputy Director General of the Philippine National Police. With a doctorate in Peace and Security Administration, General de Leon is not the average cop on the street. But in a larger sense, he is. His father was a police Sergeant of average means who taught his son the values of discipline, honor, and service to country. General de Leon has not made his career pushing pencils at a desk, but has served in far-flung provinces fighting crimes perpetrated by insurgent rebels to petty thieves. The man knows how to be a policeman.

General de Leon, as the leader of a government institution, recognizes that such an organization can never function effectively nor achieve its mandate unless the public considers it trustworthy and unless the public is involved in performing its duties. This is the central theme of "Community Policing" and it is the critical premise to realize good governance.

The crucial problem in the Third World is that the governments do not effectively deliver services to its citizens. These governments cannot be depended upon by the people to do the job. Governments preach poverty alleviation but the people know from experience that it is a farce. The people do not have any trust in the government bureaucracies and their employees, the "public servants" that man those bureaucracies. De Leon gives practical example after example of efforts to upgrade the quality of performance by his police officers. He dismisses "image control" and "praise releases" by saying "Image must be complimented with positive and direct action".

Once citizens honestly believe that law enforcement is sincerely trying to do their tasks well, then the second step of community involvement can enter the picture. The public will not help and cooperate with a police body they view as pointless and corrupt and without the public's best interest at heart. However, once the public becomes involved in law enforcement, the job of the police is easier and the results in crime reduction are evident. It is a win/win situation for both the government servants and the served.

Private enterprise in a non-monopolistic environment must cater to the customers or face extinction. However, government services are monopolistic and therefore not subject to market forces.

Discounting the conventional mantra that "Money is the problem", de Leon's formula of community involvement based on trust, opens the doors and the wallets of the private sector for resources that government might not be able to provide.

General de Leon is a policeman; hence, the book is about law enforcement. Had he been a doctor, the same ideas would apply to the delivery of health services and can also apply to all aspects of community development, both urban and rural. And when the community is improved, then wealth creation can take root and flourish.

Nonetheless, no plan or program is possible without political will from the top. This is the story of one man's personal determination to create positive changes: not simply to talk about it. Unfortunately, that is what most Third World leaders are best at: talking.