Police boxes and community precincts will soon be wiped out of their existence as the Philippine National Police (PNP) wants to bring its services closer to the people through digital communication.

PNP chief Gen. Nicolas Torre III virtually called police boxes and police community precincts (PCP) useless as they lack the necessary facility to even initiate investigation on the complaints of the public.

“We will close them because there is no investigation happening there. There’s no equipment, no materials and facility for the investigation. They only serve as a hangout place for policemen,” said Torre.

The concept behind police boxes and PCPs is to make the police presence felt and to become a go-to place for any person victimized by criminal elements.

But Torre said he would rather see his men conducting patrol on their beats than to hang out in police boxes and PCPs.

Instead of expecting face-to-face calls for assistance, Torre said he expects his men to always stay tuned on their radios and seek guidance on where to respond based on the complaints that the police receive via 911 and other digital communication devices.

“We already have a facility for reporting, 911. So this is the message that I want to tell the public: Don’t look for us in the precincts or police station because the policemen are already on the phone,” said Torre.

“All you need to do is dial 911 and your policemen will arrive within five minutes,” he added.

But Torre asked the public to give him one month to fully implement the project in Metro Manila.

Earlier, Torre vowed to implement and institutionalize police quick response—including three-minute response in highly-urbanized cities that are 24-hour active.

His confidence in doing so stemmed from the successful implementation of the program when he was still the district director of Quezon City Police District (QCPD).