THE Davao City Police Office (DCPO) recorded a 66 percent decrease of crime rate for a period of four years in Davao City at 2,311 in the first half of 2019 as compared to the first semester of 2015 with 6,869 crime volume.
DCPO director Alexander Tagum on Tuesday, July 9, attributed the declining trend of crime rate in Davao City from 2015 to the present to various anti-criminality programs and initiatives in the city.
“We've seriously reduced the number of criminals in our communities and the street that led to the current remarkable crime downtrend of 66 percent for the first semester of 2019 as compared to 2018, 2017, 2016, and 2015,” Tagum said.
Based on the data provided by DCPO-Investigation and Detective Management Branch (IMDB), Crime Registrar Police Staff Sergeant (PSSg) Edilyn Presscy Mandi Morillo said their record showed that from January to June in 2015, the crime volume reached to 6,869; 2016 (5,960); 2017 (4,278); 2018 (2,674); and for 2019 (2,311).
The year 2015 had the highest number of index crimes or focus crimes at 2,218; 2016 (1,513); 2017 (887); 2018 (595); and 2019 (432).
For the crime clearance efficiency (CCE) or the percentage of cleared cases out of the total number of crime incidents, 2015 registered 79.72 percent; 2016 - 81.48 percent; 2017 - 91.21 percent; 2018 - 93.94 percent; and 2019 - 96.71 percent.
Meanwhile, for the crime solution efficiency (CCS), which refers to the percentage of solved cases out of the total number of crime incidents for a given period of time, in 2015, there were 75.88 percent crimes solved; 2016 - 78.88 percent; 2017 - 87.33 percent; 2018 - 86.76 percent; and 2019 - 90.31 percent.
Morillo said that the deployment of foot and mobile patrols, which increased police presence, is seen to be one of the deterrent factors on the commission of crimes of criminals not to mention the active support of the local government units in all their programs.
In 2017, the Oplan Integrated Revitalized Operation of Neighborhood-Watch for the Mega City (Iron City), an upgraded integrated police patrol system aimed at making the city safer through the recruitment of 910 auxiliary cops was launched. This program further enhanced police visibility.
Due to the intensified operations and information, education, and communication campaign, Morillo said that the public has been more aware of the laws and feared to commit one.
“Kini atong non-index crimes sa special violations nato, kusog man pod ang campaign sa 4136 or traffic laws. Sa karon ang mga tao sa Davao naga sunod sila sa atoang law so mahadlok na sila mag commit ug ing-ana labin na sa Toril. Aware na ang mga tao karon dili na kaayo sila mag violate sa ordinance (We been active in the implementation of RA 4136 or traffic laws. In Davao City, the people are following the ordinance),” she added.