The facade of the La Union Police Provincial Office at San Fernando City, La Union. (Photo courtesy of La Union Police Provincial Office's Facebook page)
SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union – Almost 73 percent or 327 index crime incidents recorded in the province in the first five months of the year have been solved, the La Union Police Provincial Office (LPPO) reported.
The LPPO recorded 449 index crime incidents in the province from January 1 to May 31 this year, 1.3 percent higher than last year’s 447.
In a phone interview on Tuesday, LPPO community affairs development unit chief, Lt. Col. Dennis Ballitoc, said there are 40 cases of rape during the period as compared to 41 last year, while physical injuries increased to 13 this year as against six last year.
Ballitoc said they continue to hold information dissemination activities in the communities and patrol the interior areas of the villages in the fight against theft and rape.
He said theft incidents also rose to 12 this year as compared to six last year, while there are nine murders and two homicides this year. There are no robbery incidents recorded.
Meanwhile, the LPPO has strengthened the conduct of checkpoints and police visibility on the road to address the increased vehicular traffic incident in the province.
Ballitoc said there were 184 vehicular traffic incidents from January 1 to May 31 this year, higher than the 131 recorded in the same period last year.
“Most of those involved in the traffic incidents were motorcycles. Sometimes, they don’t have licenses or were not wearing helmets, or were drunk, so these are the things we wanted to check,” he said.
The police had been conducting checkpoints in relation to this year’s elections, but has shifted focus to motorists’ adherence to the traffic rules and regulations for the public and the driver’s safety as polls ended, Ballitoc said.
“We remind the residents to be vigilant and to follow traffic rules and regulations,” he added. (PNA)
