MANILA – The country's crime rate has dropped by 10.14 percent in the first six months this year as compared to the same period in 2022, Philippine National Police (PNP) said on Monday.
PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said there is continuing decline in peace and order indicators, particularly in index crime, from 20,765 in January to June 2022 down to 18,660 for the same period this year.
The eight focus crimes include murder, homicide, physical injury, robbery, theft, vehicle theft, motorcycle theft and rape.
Index crimes are serious crimes such as murder, homicide, physical injury, robbery, rape, theft and carjacking, while non-index crimes are violations of local ordinances and laws and vehicular accidents.
Citing collated data across the country, Fajardo said carnapping of vehicles registered the highest decline with 28.90 percent or from 173 from January to June in 2022 to 123 this year.
This was followed by physical injury with 20.01 percent, or from 2,893 to 2,314; and rape with 18.19 percent, or from 5,025 to 4,111.
Theft also went down by 9.33 percent, or from 6,506 to 5,899; caranapping of motorcycles with 8.82 percent decline, or from 998 to 910; and, murder with 1.89 percent, or from 2,177 to 2,077.
Robbery, however, went up by 6.86 percent, or from 2,434 to 2,601; while homicide with 2.75 percent increase, or from 511 to 525.
The figures, however, do not include cybercrimes which were earlier reported to have increased by around 192 percent nationwide, and 152 percent in Metro Manila.
“We are now conducting a study to determine if these cybercrime-related activities could be included in our index crimes,” Fajardo told reporters in a press briefing held at Camp Crame in Quezon City.
Based on the data released by the PNP-AntiCybercrime Group, a total of 4,104 SIM card-aided crimes were reported from January to June this year, compared to only 1,415 in the same period in 2022.
SIM card-aided crimes, according to PNP-ACG, include GCash-related transactions, text scams, bank frauds and fake news.
The PNP-ACG, however, noted that it solved almost all of the reported incidents.
Fajardo said a technical working group (TWG) was created to look into suggestions that cybercrime-related incidents must be included since they are both crimes against property and persons.
“The PNP has created a TWG to study whether these cybercrime-related offenses should be included in the index crimes for purposes that these are already bad in the eight focus crimes,” she added. (PNA)
