POLICE have recorded an increase in homicide cases in the country where pointed and sharp/bladed weapons have turned out to be the instruments used by the killers, officials told the Journal Group.
The findings, according to Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, General Debold M. Sinas has prompted them to further step up their conduct of Simultaneous Enhanced Management Police Operations or the so-called day-long ‘One-Time, Big-Time’ anti-criminality operations to account for firearms and bladed weapons being used to commit crimes on the streets.
“All police interventions are already in place to arrest criminality,” said the PNP chief.
According to Philippine National Police Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management director, Major General Marni C. Marcos Jr., although all eight focus crimes have gone down in 2020 to date compared to the same period in 2019, they have noted an increase in homicide incidents in the National Capital Region and Region 4-A in Calabarzon and Region 2 in Cagayan Valley.
Marcos said index crimes in the country from January 1 to 7 this year was pegged at 545 compared to the 1,225 recorded during the same period in 2020.
“There was an increase in homicide incidents in NCR and Regions 4-A and 2 with pointed and sharp/bladed objects as the main weapon. The main motives involve jealousy and heated arguments,” Marcos said.
The official said they extracted the information from their Crime Information Reporting and Analysis System (CIRAS). “Actually, there were different weapons used in those homicide cases but majority are bladed weapons,” he added.
Sinas earlier said the ‘new normal’ triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic which forced majority of Filipinos to stay home and observe minimum health protocols imposed by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases was a key factor in the significant reduction of the country’s Total Crime Volume or TCV in 2020.
According to the top cop, the country’s TCV last year significantly went down compared to the 2019 figures as Filipinos adopted to the ‘new normal’ and observed quarantine-related protocols specifically curfew hours and the ban on drinking in public which was strictly enforced by the police.
The PNP also noted a major reduction in all 8 Focus Crimes last year compared to the records in 2019 and credited it to the limited movement of the public including the ‘stay-at-home’ policy and ‘work-from-home setup as well as the changed behavior of Filipinos.
Sinas also credited the strict implementation of curfew hours which prevented many specifically criminals from leaving their homes; the use of intensified checkpoints, patrols and other interventions during the community quarantine by the police force with the help of other law enforcement agencies and local government units and the implementation of their Enhanced Managing Police Operations which is already a continuing police program.
Official records from the PNP-DIDM showed there were a total of 41,475 Index Crimes recorded from January 1 to December 31, 2020 compared to the 68,431 recorded in 2019 or a 39.39 percent reduction in serious crimes including homicide, murder, robbery, theft, physical injuries, rape and motorcycle and vehicle theft.
On the other hand, the PNP recorded a total of 195,897 Non-Index Crimes last year compared to the 193,134 cases in 2019 or a 1.43 percent increase.
Marcos said the rise in non-index crimes is primarily due to the occurrence of quarantine-related violations and the intensified campaign against illegal drugs launched by the PNP.
According to the official, the number of cases for violation of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 recorded in 2020 constitutes 77 percent of Special Law violations followed by the number of quarantine-related violations including assault against persons of authority.
