BAGUIO CITY April 02 – The Baguio City Police Office (BCPO) reported the city’s crime volume for the first two weeks of the implementation of the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine significantly dropped by a whopping 73 percent compared to the crime volume recorded by the city police force during the same period last year.
BCPO City Director Police Col. Allen Rae F. Co said that based on the latest statistics from March 17-31, 2020, there were only 25 crimes recorded within the jurisdiction of the city police force compared to the 95 crimes recorded in the same period last year.
Further, the crime volume from March 1-16, 2020 or the first two weeks of the month prior to the implementation of the enhanced community quarantine was only 25 which is approximately 80 percent lower than the crime volume registered by the city’s police force during the same period last year.
The police official also revealed there was also a significant reduction in the number of focus crimes at the height of the Luzon-wide quarantine with only 4 focus crimes compared to the 11 focus crimes during the same period last year while there was also a similar reduction in focus crimes during the first two weeks of March prior to the handing down of the presidential directive to implement the Luzon-wide lockdown.
Co attributed the drastic decrease in the number of crimes in the city to the effect of the enhanced community quarantine where most people were mandated to stay in their homes while those who are allowed to go out strictly adhered to the policy on social distancing.
According to him, the closure of nightspots and liquor establishments also had a significant contribution in the reduction of cases of physical injuries as there are no individuals under the influence of liquor who loiter around the city that often lead to conflicts and escalate to violence resulting to physical injuries among those involved.
He commended the over 800-strong law enforcers of the BCPO aside from the 48 police personnel provided by the Police Regional Office (PRO) in the Cordillera as augmentation for their dedication to their assigned duties and responsibilities in managing the police checkpoints, conducting foot and mobile patrols around the city, performing administrative functions, among other peacekeeping initiatives, that also contributed in reducing the crime volume due to the presence of police in the different parts of the city.
The BCPO official explained that two-thirds of the city police force are always on duty at a single time while one-third of the same are mandated to go on day off to prevent the police personnel from being exhausted.
He urged the public to continue being disciplined citizens of the city to help ease the burden from the city police force in the implementation of anti-criminality, anti-terrorism and peacekeeping initiatives that will sustain the prevailing peace and order situation in the city.
Co asserted that if people were able to survive the first three weeks of the quarantine period, then it is just proper for them to extend a little bit their patience in adhering to the stringent quarantine regulations which will expire on April 14, 2020 to prevent the spread of the contagious virus.
By Dexter A. See
