THE Police Regional Office (PRO) – Western Visayas reported a significant decrease in crimes in the region for the first five months of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.
According to PRO-Western Visayas data under the Peace and Order Indicator, there were 4,820 crime incidents documented from January to May 2024.
This represents a decrease of 374 incidents or 7.20 percent compared to the 5,194 incidents recorded during the same period in 2023.
Index crimes, which are more serious and impact public safety, experienced a 19.88 percent decrease from 1,202 in 2023 to 963 in 2024, indicating a significant reduction.
Non-index crimes, less serious but disruptive to public order, decreased by 135 incidents by 3.38 percent from 3,992 in 2023 to 3,857 in 2024.
Eight specific crimes are categorized as “focus crimes” due to their severity: murder, homicide, physical injury, rape, robbery, theft, carnapping of motor vehicles, and carnapping of motorcycles.
The total number of these focus crimes dropped from 1,197 in the first five months of 2023 to 958 in 2024, reflecting a decrease of 239 cases 19.97 percent.
Police Brigadier General Jack Wanky, regional director of the PRO-Western Visayas, commended all unit commanders across the region for their dedication and proactive efforts in combating crime.
“The down trend of our recorded crimes in the region is the fruit of your labor. This is the product of maximizing your personnel on the streets and deploying them in strategic areas,” Wanky said. (Leo Solinap/SunStar Philippines)
