APALIT -- The number of crimes here has increased to 50 percent during the first half of the year, records of the municipal police station showed.
The figures were revealed during the session of the municipal council regarding the peace and order situation of the town.
Police Superintendent Samuel Sevilla informed the town council that they recorded 55 crimes cases from start of the year until June 21, which is higher than the 33 cases recorded in same period last year.
Twenty-four of the 55 cases were classified as index crimes and the rest are non-index crimes. However, 32 of the total were cleared by MPS, raising the crime clearance efficiency to 58.18 percent.
The town police have also arrested four of the wanted people in the town for different crimes such as frustrated homicide, qualified theft, malicious mischief and physical injury.
The town police have also conducted four positive drug buy-bust operations where they arrested four drug pushers and recovered 0.700 grams of suspected shabu.
Aside from these, the local police have issued 1,711 traffic citation tickets (TCT) and impounded 207 motorcycles and tricycles in their checkpoint operations with the help of traffic aides from the mayor’s office.
The group has also issued 657 TCTs and 92 impounded motorcycles and tricycles and apprehended four person for disobedience and resisting arrest from their integrated checkpoint operations.
In order to reach out to the community, Sevilla and his men are also conducting "Dalaw ni Hepe sa Barangay" in order to know problems, specifically regarding the peace and order.
They are also handling talks about the laws that are being implemented to give knowledge to the people.