The Philippine National Police (PNP) has recorded a 47% nationwide reduction of crime during the six-month implementation of quarantine rules, compared to the same period before the community quarantine was first implemented on March 17.
Police Lt. Gen. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar, commander of the JTF COVID Shield, said that from 31,661 criminal incidents recorded under the Eight Focus Crimes of the Philippine National Police (PNP) from September 15, 2019, to March 16, 2020, the figure was reduced to only 16,879 from March 17 to September 16 this year.
The decline in the criminal incidents in the country translates to an average of 92 cases per day during six-month, or 184 days of the community quarantine period compared to an average of 172 cases per day during the six-month pre-quarantine period.
“We have been conducting analysis of the crime situation in the past six months in order to identify the best practices and security adjustments that we could replicate in other areas and eventually institutionalized in order to sustain this momentum,” Eleazar said.
In coordination with the PNP led by General Camilo Pancratius Cascolan, the JTF Covid Shield Commander said all police commanders were already ordered to sustain police visibility and beat patrol down and constantly coordinate with the barangay officials to intensify peace and order measures down to the community level.
The Eight Focus Crime of the PNP consists of Murder, Homicide, Physical Injury, Rape, Robbery, Theft, Carnapping of Motorcyles and Carnapping of Vehicles.
Eleazar noted that during the implementation of the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ), the criminal incidents were reduced by 61% across the country.
NO LOOTING
Despite the economic difficulties brought by the Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic, Eleazar disclosed that there was a significant decline in what the PNP classifies as Crimes Against Property under the Eight Focus Crime—Robbery, Theft and Carnapping of motor vehicles.
For robbery, there was a decline of 61%—or from 4,807 cases from September 15, 2019, to March 16, 2020 to only 1,867. For theft cases, a decrease of 60% or from 10,553 to only 4,228.
“The big decrease in cases of robbery and theft, along with zero report of looting, refutes speculations before that there would be an upsurge on crime against property and looting due to economic difficulties,” said Eleazar.
While carnapping of motorcycles was considered common before, the cases went down by 66%–the biggest decline recorded among the Eight Focus Crimes— during the six-month quarantine period, or from 2,013 to only 693.
Carnapping of vehicles, on the other hand, also went down by 61%, or from 218 to merely 86.
MISCONCEPTION
In the past days, there have been reports that seem to project that cases of murder and rape became rampant during the six-month quarantine period.
But the JTF COVID Shield data, according to Eleazar, belies the reports.
For cases of murder, it went down from 3,197 during the six-month pre-quarantine period to 2,509 during the six-month quarantine period, or a decrease of 22%.
Rape cases, on the other hand, went down by 24%, or from 4,580 to 3,446.
Eleazar also disclosed that cases of Homicide also went down by 25%, or from 819 to 612 while cases of Physical Injury went down by 38%, or from 5,474 to 3,418.
DECLINE OF ALREADY REDUCED CRIME INCIDENTS
It is the Visayas Region which experienced the biggest decline in crime incidents with 50% reduction, or from 8,116 to 4,035. This translates to to only 22 criminal incidents a day compared to 44 cases during the six-month pre-quarantine period.
For Luzon, he said the average daily crime was reduced from 91 per day to 49 per day, or a reduction of 46% based on the recorded figure that there were 16,781 cases recorded during the pre-quarantine period to 9,046 during the quarantine period.
Mindanao recorded a 44% decline, or from 6,764 cases to 3,798 cases, or an average of 21 crimes a day compared to 37 per day before.
“We would like to point out that the criminal incidents have been consistently declining in the past four years, or since our Commander-In-Chief Mayor Rodrigo Duterte assumed the presidency in July 2016,” Eleazar expressed.
“Further reducing the already declined criminal incidents by 47% further is a big accomplishment that would benefit the Filipino people. That is why we intend to keep this way by conducting analysis of our strategies in order to institutionalize the best practices in our peace and order strategy,” he added.