By Christopher Lloyd Caliwan
MANILA – Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr. on Monday said incidents of eight focus crimes being monitored by the police force decreased by 14.69 percent from Jan. 1 to April 8 this year.
Citing latest data, Azurin said a total of 9,345 crime incidents were recorded during this period as compared to 10,954 cases recorded in the same period last year.
The eight focus crimes are murder, homicide, physical injury, rape, theft, robbery, car theft and motorcycle theft.
Azurin claimed that he had implemented measures to improve police visibility and strengthen police-community relations across the country.
Part of the security measures are the immediate response to the complaints of the people, police presence down to the communities and aggressive coordination with local officials and stakeholders to combat crimes, particularly illegal drugs at the barangay level.
The strategy also includes the campaign against loose firearms and the accounting of wanted persons.
Based on the latest data, around 2,000 people were arrested for possession of loose guns while almost 7,000 were seized since January this year.
On the other hand, more than 17,00 wanted persons have been arrested since January this year. (PNA)
