Crime incidents in the region nosedived since the start of the community quarantine on March 14, police data revealed.
“The crime volume has a decrease of more than 22 percent comparing it to the period from January to March 13 to the start of lockdown, ” said Brig. Gen. Filmore Escobal, director of PRO XI, during a virtual presser on Wednesday afternoon.
He said they noted a decrease in peace and order index from 2,723 for the first 10 weeks of the year to 2,008 since the start of the lockdown. Peace and order index refers to accumulated data on crimes committed against persons and properties.
He said the contraction has been recorded across the region, except for Davao Occidental and Davao Oriental, which both registered a slight increase in crimes against persons and crimes against properties, respectively. The regional office is still trying to find answers why both provinces are bucking the trend.
With fewer private cars on the road and public transportation suspended, the number of vehicle collisions and crashes also dropped.
“Across all categories of the crimes, there is a decrease, especially during the start of COVID-19 threat, ” he added.
The regional director also cited the Davao City Police Office for maintaining a high crime solution efficiency. Crime solution means the suspect was arrested and a case was filed against the perpetrator/s.
“But overall, crime incidents decreased regionwide, so this is our crime environment for now comparing it before and during the COVID infection,” he added.
Quarantine measures
contribute to decrease
Escobal attributes the decrease to the enforcement of the community quarantine, including the curfew, liquor ban, and the food and medicine pass. Also, the public is generally cooperative to the government call for them to stay home.
Also, police visibility has been enhanced during this period. The regional PNP has deployed 100 personnel to each of the provincial police offices. They also set up 10 regional boundary checkpoints and even more internal security checkpoints to control movement.
“If we look at good things that happened during COVID, it is the decrease in criminality,” he said.
Based on their record, there are 1,222 curfew violators regionwide who were either ticketed and booked. For hoarding, profiteering, and overpricing, they arrested 33 individuals and seized goods worth of P1,141,508. The also filed 16 cases against these perpetrators in court.
“I’m warning everybody that we will continue the strict and relentless enforcement of laws,” the regional director said.
