#PNP: Responsibilities of First Responder to a Crime or Accident Scene

In line with the Tagaytay crash involving the lives of 6 minors: There were conflicting reports on whether or not the police did their job accordingly. Some witnesses debunked the statement of the police where they said that they responded immediately, tried to save the victims but fire engulfed the car. While another witness took a photo of the car which was crashed on scene without fire. The first witness also notes that there were no police present when they arrived at the scene and the car was on fire, she claims: The police came and they left the scene.

A debate ensued on social media. Most were enraged at how the police responded and how they left the scene without trying to retrieve the bodies of the victims or to even check if anyone was still alive. Some however debated that it’s not that easy to rescue someone especially with the threat of fire or explosion. They say you need to be professionally trained for rescue and cannot just be “heroic” like in the movies.

With the question at hand: Did the police who first responded at the scene really did their jobs accordingly?

You may easily retrieve the PNP handbook from the The Philippine National Police’s website: pnp.gov.ph

Here we read the section which explains the Specific Functions, Responsibilities and Procedures of the First Responder

First Responder (FR)

1. The first Police Officers to arrive at the crime scene are the FRs who were dispatched by the local police station/unit concerned after receipt of incident/flash/ alarm report;
2. Immediately, the FR shall conduct a preliminary evaluation of the crime scene. This evaluation should include the scope of the incident, emergency services required, scene safety concerns, administration of life-saving measures , and establishment of security and control of the scene;
3. The FR is mandated to save and preserve life by giving the necessary first-aid measures to the injured and their medical evacuation as necessary. The FR shall likewise secure and preserve the crime scene by cordoning off the area to prevent unauthorized entry of persons;
4. The FR shall take the dying declaration of severely injured person/s, if any. Requisites of a “Dying Declaration” are:

• That death is imminent and the declarant is conscious of that fact;
• That the declaration refers to the cause and surrounding circumstances of such death;

• That the declaration relates to facts which the victim is competent to testify to;

With that being said, Do you think that the police who first responded at the scene did their jobs accordingly and sufficiently?