Enhancing Community-Oriented Policing through the PROTECT Box: An Evaluation of Tourism Protection, Crime Deterrence, and Public Engagement in Ilocos Norte
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.67669/facci0030Keywords:
crime deterrence, Ilocos Norte Police Provincial Office, information guide, tourism protectionAbstract
This study evaluated the Police Response Outpost for Traffic Enforcement and Concerns of Tourists (PROTECT) Box Project of the Ilocos Norte Police Provincial Office. It developed an information guide to strengthen its implementation. Using a mixed-methods design, the study examined respondents’ awareness of the PROTECT Box functions in tourism protection and crime deterrence, assessed perceived effectiveness, and explored the experiences of community users and police personnel assigned to the outposts. Participants included 100 tourists, residents, and barangay officials who availed of PROTECT Box services, as well as police personnel deployed in selected areas. Findings showed that respondents were highly aware of the project’s functions and rated the PROTECT Box as highly effective in promoting tourist safety, police visibility, emergency response, and crime prevention. Community experiences highlighted responsive public safety, helpful assistance, quality public engagement, and support for tourist mobility. Police personnel described their work as fulfilling and community-centered, but also marked by difficult interactions, multiple emergencies, and challenging working conditions. The study concludes that the PROTECT Box strengthens police-community relations and serves as a promising model for community-based policing. An informative flyer was developed to promote further the purpose, locations, services, and emergency hotline details for residents and visitors provincewide.
Downloads
References
Aydinan, J. B. (2020). Knowledge and level of compliance of tricycle drivers on traffic rules and regulations: A case of the tricycle city of the Philippines. International Journal of English and Literature, 5(2), 528–535. https://doi.org/10.22161/IJELS.52.30 DOI: https://doi.org/10.22161/ijels.52.30
Bernabe, T. C., Anacan, R. M., Pelobillo, A. J. M., Valondo, S. C., & Valdez, J. L. (2022). License plate and owner recognition of overspeeding vehicles using LabVIEW. 2022 International Conference on Engineering, Technology, and Social Sciences (pp. 247–251). https://doi.org/10.1109/ICETSIS55481.2022.9888887 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/ICETSIS55481.2022.9888887
Diamantopoulos, G. (2024). Tourism Oriented Police for Community Order and Protection (TOPCOP) Program: An assessment of police visibility in tourist areas—Department of Tourism, Philippines.
Escriba, I. N. D., Romuar, T. H. C., Sinconiegue, B. O., & Gono Jr., E. R. (2024). Police visibility and neighborhood crimes among selected barangays in Davao City, Philippines. Journal of Crime and Safety Studies, 10(1), 102-118. DOI: https://doi.org/10.46827/ejpss.v7i2.1781
Gallo, R. A., Sabijon, D. F., & Tinapay, A. O. (2023). Governors of safety: Lived experiences of tourism police. International Journal of Tourism Research, 24(3), 191–202.
Norfarah, N., & Siti-Nabiha, A. K. (2021). Tourist police service quality and service culture influence on tourists’ confidence. Journal of Tourism, Hospitality & Culinary Arts, 13(1), 15–36.
O’Reilly, C. (2024). Visibility and foot patrol. In Policing and Crime Prevention (pp. 45-61). https://doi.org/10.51952/9781447368120.ch004 DOI: https://doi.org/10.51952/9781447368120.ch004
Pradeep, N. C. (2018). Policing tourism: Challenges and opportunities of the tourist police system in India. In Apple Academic Press eBooks (pp. 59–90). https://doi.org/10.1201/b22319-13 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1201/b22319-13
Rowley, M., Jones, M. W., Millié, P., & Ralph, L. (2022). Visible policing: Uniforms and the (re)construction of police occupational identity. Policing & Society, 32(5), 603–617. https://doi.org/10.1080/10439463.2022.2096608 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10439463.2022.2096608
Supnad, C. D. (2023). 35 Protect boxes set up in Ilocos Norte. Philippine Police Journal, 11(2), 34–39.
Wallace, W. C. (2020). Policing tourism: Findings from an evaluation of a tourism-oriented policing training program in the Caribbean. International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy, 9(3), 159–173. https://doi.org/10.5204/ijcjsd.v9i3.1416 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5204/ijcjsd.v9i3.1416
Yesberg, J. A., Brunton-Smith, I., & Bradford, B. (2021). Police visibility, trust in police fairness, and collective efficacy: A multilevel structural equation model. European Journal of Criminology, 18(4), 465–486. https://doi.org/10.1177/14773708211035306 DOI: https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/k7ren
Young, A. (2021). Architecture as affective law enforcement: Theorizing the Japanese Koban. Policing and Society, 31(2), 150–165. https://doi.org/10.1080/10439463.2021.1882957 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1741659021993527
