📄 Abstract
This study explores the qualitative findings regarding the lived experiences of thirteen active crime investigators across various Butuan City Police Stations. Utilizing Colaizzi’s seven-step phenomenological method, the research preserves empirical rigor to capture the structural realities, operational hazards, and psychosocial effects defining contemporary frontline police work. The findings reveal a profound operational divide characterized by inter-agency friction and structural bottlenecks, where localized, time-sensitive investigations stall due to centralized regional workloads and resource lack in specialized units like SOCO and RACU. This operational lag creates severe anxiety as detective’s race against strict statutory inquest deadlines under Article 125 of the Revised Penal Code. Furthermore, a widespread scarcity of basic institutional tools has normalized self-funded policing, forcing investigators to routinely cover fuel, stationery, and data expenses out of their own pockets to prevent active leads from going cold. Concurrently, high-command mandates for real-time digital updates induce split-attention tension and clerical overload at active crime scenes, while rural deployments expose personnel to environmental hazards and witness resistance rooted in a lack of decentralized witness protection systems. To survive these extreme administrative and emotional strains, investigators rely on tactical compartmentalization, bullpen solidarity, and deep cultural anchors like spiritual faith and familial duty. Nevertheless, the cumulative burden inevitably causes secondary trauma, hypervigilance, and household spillover. To shift these weights away from individual officers, the study proposes Project RESPOND a comprehensive welfare and operational program designed to provide localized funding, clerical assistance, streamlined inter-agency digital loops, and confidential mental health support.
🏷️ Keywords
📚 How to Cite:
Briel E. Romano, Dr. Donald B. Narra , NAVIGATING JUSTICE-EXPLORING THE LIVED EXPERIENCES OF CRIME INVESTIGATORS IN BUTUAN CITY , Volume 12 , Issue 9, September 2026, EPRA International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research (IJMR) , Pages: 377 - 385 , DOI: https://doi.org/10.36713/epra31541