Crime rate in 3rd quarter of 2018 lower than previous – PNP chief

Director General Oscar Albayalde, PNP chief, show here giving a press briefing on Oct. 22, 2018 (Photo from a PNP video posted on its Facebook page)

The overall crime rate in the country recorded for the third quarter of 2018 is lower compared to previous records, according to Director General Oscar D Albayalde, chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP).

Albayalde pointed this out in a statement issued on Sunday in reaction to a recent survey of the Social Weather Stations (SWS) showing that 6.1 percent of 1.4 million Filipino families had become victims of common crimes in the past six months.

READ: SWS: 1.4M Filipino families victimized by common crimes in past 6 months

“This number is, in fact, an improvement from the 6.6% crime victimization rate posted in the 1st quarter from January thru March 2018 and the double digit 11.4% from April to June 2016,” Albayalde said.

But according to the SWS, the latest results showed an 0.7 point increase from the 5.3 percent or 1.2 Filipino families who reported the same in the previous quarter ended June 2018.

Still, the PNP said the crime rate remained “manageable.”

“The slight increase in the number of Filipinos who fell victims to crime over the past three months can be attributed to the holiday season and a greater confidence of citizens to report crime to the police,” he said.

“The third quarter(Q3) rate of crime victimization serves to remind our people to remain vigilant, and for us in law enforcement to double our efforts,” he added. /atm