Crime rate actually went down, PNP explains

Superintendent Wilben Mayor. Photo from www.valenzuela.gov.ph

What rise in crime?

The Philippine National Police on Monday said the crime rate actually went down in the first half of the year, contrary to data released earlier by one of its offices.

According to PNP spokesman Chief Supt. Wilben Mayor, the total crime volume for the first half of 2015 was 509,924 incidents recorded—or 15.36 percent lower than the 602,449 figure initially for the same period last year.

Mayor clarified that the 885,445 crime volume figure that came out in media reports had been invalidated by the time the Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management released the figure.

He explained that the figures from January to June took a month to validate, meaning that the accurate figures were released only this month.

“Validation means that our men go to the ground to double check if the crimes were really committed, or if these were reported more than once,” Mayor said.

Hence, there was a difference of 375,521 between the initial crime volume of 885,445 and the validated figure of 509,924.

Data earlier obtained by the media showed that the crime rate across the country went up by almost 47 percent, from 2014’s 603,085 figure.

Mayor maintained that the 509,924 figure for 2015 had been validated, based on police and barangay (village) blotters and reports from other law-enforcement agencies.

“We are very serious about proper reporting,” he said.

Of this figure, Metro Manila registered the highest number of crimes with 116,347. The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao had the lowest figure with 2,096 incidents.

Mayor said there were slight increases in homicide, rape, car theft and violation of special laws cases, ranging from three to eight percent.

Index crimes such as crimes against persons and property totaled 206,386, or 40 percent of the total crime volume, with physical injury recording the most number of cases at 104,638.

This was followed by theft, 61,064 incidents (29.59 percent); robbery, 18,846 (9.13 percent); car theft, 6,491 (3.15 percent); rape, 5,415 (2.62 percent); murder, 4,845 (2.35 percent); homicide, 4,371 (2.12 percent) and cattle-rustling, 718 (0.35 percent).

The PNP said crimes against person and crimes against property went down by 12.31 percent and 27.53 percent, respectively.