“POLICE work is the only profession that gives you the test first, then the lesson.” (Anonymous)
This column previously discussed the “Criminal Justice System” and the five pillars of the Philippine criminal justice system—namely: law enforcement; prosecution; court; corrections [penology]; and the community.
The law enforcement pillar (being the prime mover of the Criminal Justice System) consists mainly of the officers and men of the Philippine National Police, the National Bureau of Investigation, and other agencies.
The NBI, an agency of the Department of Justice, serves as a main artery through which programs and services instituted by the Department are delivered to the people. (NBI’s territorial jurisdiction is national in scope and extends to all cities and provinces of our country.)
When the law enforcers learn of crimes—or discover them—they: (1) Investigate the crime by conducting surveillance, interview of persons with knowledge of facts directly or indirectly connected with the offense, search of premises and persons subject to constitutional and statutory safeguards, examination of public and other available records pertaining to the persons involved, etc.; (2) Arrest suspects: [a] by virtue of a warrant of arrest issued by a judge on the basis of the evidence submitted by them; or [b] under circumstances justifying a warrantless arrest [Sec. 5, Rule 113, Rules of Court]; and (3) Refer the case and the suspects to the office of the public prosecutor for preliminary investigation, or directly to the Municipal Trial Court for trial and judgment.
Police investigation pertains to police activities (the initial investigation of crimes reported to or discovered by police authorities).
These police activities may, among others, take the form of: (a) surveillance and observation of suspects, other persons and premises; (b) the taking of photographs (surreptitiously or otherwise); (c) the interview of persons with knowledge of facts directly or indirectly connected with the offense (including the suspects who consent to be questioned), and the reduction of these persons’ declarations into writing (usually in question-and-answer form); (d) entrapment of suspects when feasible; (e) the search of premises and persons, and seizure of objects, subject to constitutional and statutory safeguards; and (f) the interrogation of suspects in police custody, with meticulous observance of the rights granted to them by the Constitution.
On the other hand, arrest is the taking of a person into custody so that he may be bound to answer for the commission of an offense. (Sec. 1, Rule 113, Revised Rules on Criminal Procedure; see also Revilla, Jr. v. Sandiganbayan [First Division], 874 SCRA 52])
Generally, no person may be taken into custody except only by virtue of a warrant of arrest issued by a competent court. No less than the Constitution guarantees that the State cannot intrude into the citizen’s persons, house, papers, and effects without a warrant issued by a judge finding probable cause. (Lapid v. People, G.R. No. 210731, February 13, 2019)
