Last Wednesday I wrote about one of our faculty members being robbed in a University of the Philippines Diliman parking lot, and invited readers to send in their tips on how we might avoid such incidents. I’ll wait for a few more days before compiling the comments and suggestions, but today I want to add more warnings to help us through the “ber” season, when crime rates go up, and beyond.
Last Wednesday I warned you about criminals watching us. Today I’m going to send chills up your spine by explaining how these criminals get to know a lot about you—and you’ll be surprised at how deceptively simple their intelligence networks are.
But before that, because I know our teachers and professors have just been traumatized not necessarily by assaults and robberies but by checking papers and running against deadlines for grades, I want to share two funny but touching stories around last week’s robbery, before writing about criminal intelligence. (I promise to make that part light as well.)
‘Gabi ng lagim’
It was late that terrible evening—gabi ng lagim in Filipino, a night of mystery and dread—when I learned about the robbery. I turned the car around and went back to my office to instruct the guards to go on red alert, and also to warn other people who might still be in the building. I noticed that the Computer Lab lights were still on and I knocked on the door, but no one was in. I tried calling Ranjit, the head of the Lab, but no one answered, and that got me worried, too. But Ranjit’s a big guy, so, figuring he could take care of himself, I headed home.
The next day I ran into Ranjit. He told me he was indeed working overtime, did get word about the robbery, and decided to go to the parking lot to warn people who were still there. “And that included,” he added, laughing, “a couple in a car who didn’t seem too happy about my intrusion.”
I laughed, too, thinking of how Ranjit’s good intentions might have backfired for the other stragglers. Imagine this big guy walking around a dark parking lot, going from one car to another. Trick or treat?
I’ve always taken pride in my team of college officials being gracious and going out of their way to help other people.
The robbery incident brought out still another side of valor from our faculty. Perlie, the faculty member who was robbed, said the criminals were upset that she didn’t have a laptop for them to take away. Tied and blindfolded, Perlie thought of how she had to protect something most valuable. She begged the robbers not to take the students’ term papers, which she still needed to correct. The robbery occurred on a Wednesday and our deadline for grades was the following Monday.
The robbers’response? One of them asked what “term papers” are. And they didn’t take the papers.
Our students and their parents should know how we UP faculty value your term papers and exams, and how scared we are about not submitting our grades on time. University regulations provide for salary deductions if we’re late. (And, in Perlie’s case, her salary had already been “deducted” from the ATM by her assailants.)
Intelligence agents
Let’s get serious now and move on to criminal intelligence. I should mention that many readers suggested CCTV cameras for security, but I’m really skeptical about that. The ATM that Perlie’s assailants used did have a camera, but when the videos were played back all they could get were hazy images of a robber who clearly knew what he was doing, effectively covering his face from the camera.
There’s more to criminal intelligence. Last Wednesday I wrote about how they watch us, choosing places and times when they can pull a heist, and who they can victimize.
The choice of victims is crucial, and here I want to share something we often overlook. Some subdivisions now organize orientation seminars for new domestic workers: helpers, houseboys, drivers. The orientation includes warning them not to talk with strangers.
You’re probably getting the picture now. Criminal syndicates do field agents to befriend helpers and houseboys during their day off, or drivers as they wait for their employers. I think the drivers are a especially weak link. Just observe the groups of drivers as they huddle in the mall waiting area, or outside a party. Not all of the men will be drivers.
It’s easy for an “intelligence criminal” to just blend in and strike up a conversation. Drivers are a gossipy lot. They can tell you who lives where, what their business is, who’s married to whom (and who are not married to each other but living together), how many children a couple have and their names and ages and the schools they go to. I tell you, they can even tell you the sexual orientation of everyone in the subdivision.
Even better than census takers, they’re always updating their information: who was admitted to the hospital and why, who has been discharged, who was readmitted.
Household helpers are less gossipy, mainly because they’re not as free to move around, but they can still be rich mines of information. I’ve wondered about “clans,” which are 21st-century variations on the “phone pal” gimmick. Remember how people would call on the telephone, sometimes in the middle of a night, saying, “Puede pong mag phone pal?” Now they send text messages—at random, it seems—with invitations to join a clan, which are informal groups that will text one another and then meet up (“eyeball”) on weekends at designated sites. It’s a way to meet new people, and quite a few romantic liaisons are said to come from the clans.
I wonder now if the clans are also used for criminal intelligence. But besides the clans, there are ways to access information from the helpers and houseboys. How do you think the dugo-dugo gangs get phone numbers? These are the ones who will call while you’re away and tell your household helper that the employer met an accident and needs money to be brought over. The helper believes the caller because he has the phone number, and will give names of family members…and it looks like in these cases the helper might not even know she was the source of all that information.
Do be careful. Now I’m going to scare you even more with UP “intelligence.” I do worry about the helpers and drivers, but if you ask me, the weakest links in security, the most gossipy ones, are…security guards.
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E-mail: mtan@inquirer.com.ph