LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – Sixty wanted persons were successively arrested by combined police operatives and intelligence operations during sperate intensified and aggressive anti-criminality operations in the different parts of the Cordillera from June 8-15, 2024.
Police authorities said that the Benguet Police Provincial Office (PPO) had the highest number of arrests with 21 wanted persons apprehended, followed by the Baguio City Police Office (CPO) with 15 arrests, Apayao PPO and Kalinga PPO with seven arrests each, Ifugao PPO with five arrests, Mountain Province PPO with four arrests, and Abra PPO with three arrests.
Further, of the 62 individuals arrested, 10 were identified as Most Wanted Persons at the Provincial Level, four at the Municipal Level, and one at the Regional Level.
Meanwhile, as a result of intensified police presence, 71 municipalities in the different provinces in the region and eight police stations in Baguio City remained peaceful, with PRO-CAR recording zero crime incidents in these areas during the same week.
Zero crime incidents were recorded in 25 municipalities in Abra, seven in Apayao, 12 in Benguet, 11 in Ifugao, 10 in Mountain Province, and six in Kalinga; while in Baguio City, Police Station 1, Police Station 3, Police Station 4, Police Station 6, Police Station 7, Police Station 8, Police Station 9 and Police Station 10 of Baguio CPO also recorded zero crime incidents out of the 10 police stations in the city.
Moreover, for the same period, there was a 6.98% decrease in the incidents of index and non-index crimes as indicated by the Peace and Order Indicator (POI) and a 0.15% decrease in the POI-Average Weekly Crime Rate compared to the data from the same duration last year.
PRO-CAR also recorded 78% Crime Clearance Efficiency and 60% Crime Solution Efficiency from the reported incidents for this week, crediting these outcomes to the diligent efforts of police officers in solving crimes.
The PRO-CAR Regional Director, PBGen. David K. Peredo, Jr, commended the proactive police efforts, community cooperation, and strategic anti-criminality measures implemented by the PRO-CAR cops. He credited the decrease in crime to these measures, along with increased police visibility, which serves as a deterrent, ensuring a safer environment for the local community of the Cordillera region. By Dexter A. See
