Public’s perceived effectiveness to the strategies of the Philippine National Police against hostage taking.

Abstract

The Philippine National Police, the country’s law enforcement agency, is in-charge of solving different crime related situations such as the hostage taking crisis. Public perception to PNP’s strategies against such situation will affect the agency’s credibility and reputation. These two elements are important for these will have impact to the public’s trust and cooperation with PNP which is pertinent for the agency’s daily operations. Since there are different ways on how the public witness a hostage taking situation, perceptions of people could differ.

This descriptive research study determines the perception of the public to the strategies of PNP against hostage taking. It is achieved by identifying some strategies against hostage taking in terms of planning, management, communication and post-assault plan and knowing if PNP does these strategies during actual hostage taking based on public perception. Measurement of the perception of people who actually witnessed the hostage taking and those who watched i t through television will be compared. A separate measurement will also be done to determine public’s perception to the over-all strategies of PNP against hostage taking. The objectives of the study will be accomplished through content analysis to different sources of hostage taking strategies and survey questionnaires to the public.

The research revealed that the hostage taking strategies covered by the study are all done by PNP during actual hostage taking. Public perceptions to these strategies were regarded by the respondents to be positive. That is, the public perceives these strategies to be effective. When the strategies were grouped into four divisions according to the stages that PNP undergoes during the actual hostage taking, the planning stage were perceived by the respondents to be highly positive. PNP was highly effective in activating a group that is in-charge of handling the hostage taking situation along with its sub-groups assigned to perform a specific task. This is followed by the post-assault plan stage which was perceived by the respondents as positive. PNP has effectively executed the steps to be done after the hostage taking situation. The management and the negotiation stage have obtained the lowest score compared to the four stages. But still, people perceived these two stages to be positive. These stages are crucial for the success of the outcome of the hostage situation. PNP has also effectively carried out these strategies well that is why the hostage taking situation’s result was a success.

The study proved the significance of media’s role during hostage crisis. People who have witnessed the actual hostage taking gave higher scores compared to people who have seen it through television. There is a significant difference of perception to the PNP’s strategies between the two groups. PNP should also consider the media during a hostage taking crisis because it could affect how the people would perceive the effectiveness of the agency’s strategies. Lastly, majority of the respondents’ score to the over-all strategies of PNP against hostage taking range from neutral, positive and highly positive. Results show that the public seems to have a good perception to the strategies of PNP against hostage taking.