QUEZON CITY -- The Philippine National Police’s aggressive law enforcement operations, that include the campaign against illegal drugs, and the massive increase in efficiency of solving crimes led to a whopping 64% reduction in crime in the country in the past five years.

PNP Chief General Guillermo Lorenzo T Eleazar said that crime prevention and the efficiency in solving crime serve as the barometer of the success and failure of the police in accomplishing its mandate of maintaining peace and order and protecting the people from criminal and terrorist elements.

He stressed that the PNP has been consistently doing well in the past five years in both crime prevention and in solving crime incidents.

PGen Eleazar explained that the Crime Solution Efficiency (CSE) of the PNP increased by 85.94 percent while Crime Clearance Efficiency (CCE) went up to 80.87 percent from July 2016 to June 2021 compared to July 2010 to June 2015.

“We in the PNP believe that one of the best way to deter a crime is the assurance that the offender will be identified and arrested and that they would be charged and convicted,” said PGen Eleazar.

“Naniniwala kami na ang pagtaas ng Crime Solution Efficiency and Crime Clearance Efficiency are crime prevention themselves because they send a strong message to the people that they would certainly be held accountable if they violate the law,” he added.

CSE and CCE

Crime Solution Efficiency refers to the percentage of solved cases out of the total number of crime incidents for a given period of time.

A case is considered solved if the offender has been arrested and criminal complaint has been filed. In case of at least two offenders, it is still considered solved if one of them has been arrested and was slapped with appropriate case/s.

The PNP recorded 48.89 percent increase in Crime Solution Efficiency from July 2016 to June 2021 compared to 26.29 percent from July 2010 to June 2021. This means an 85.94 percent increase in CSE.

Crime clearance efficiency, on the other hand, is the percentage of cleared cases out of the total number of crime incidents.

A case is considered cleared if the offender, or if there are several offenders, at least one of the offenders, has been identified; and criminal complaint has been filed against him/them, regardless whether he, or none of them, was arrested.

From only 37.81 percent from July 2010 to June 2015, PNP data disclosed that the CCE went up to 68.40 percent from July 2016 to June 2021, or an 80.87 percent increase.

“Ibig sabihin nito, mas maraming kriminal ang napapanagot natin sa nakalipas na limang taon. Ito naman ay pinagtuunan talaga namin ng pansin dahil naniniwala ako na isa sa epektibong paraan ng crime prevention ay ang katiyakan na maaaresto at mapapanagot ang mga taong lalabag sa ating mga batas,” said PGen Eleazar.

FOCUS CRIMES

Aside from the significant increase in Crime Solution Efficiency and Crime Clearance Efficiency, he said that the significant drop in focus crimes is a clear indication that the PNP’s strategy in crime prevention is working well.

Based on the PNP data, a total of 1,113,712 focus crimes were recorded from July 2010 to June 2015 but it went down to only 395,920 focus crimes from July 2015 to June 2021. This translates to 64.45% reduction.

The focus crimes Murder, Homicide, Rape, Physical Injury, Robbery, Theft and Carnapping of Motor Vehicles.

CRIME AGAINST PERSONS, CRIME AGAINST PROPERTY

The focus crimes are divided into two main classifications: 1. Crime Against Person which covers the cases of Murder, Homicide, Rape and Physical Injury; and, 2. Crime Against Property which covers cases of Robbery, Theft and Carnapping of Motor Vehicles.

PNP crime statistics showed that from July 2010 to June 2015, the PNP recorded 458,367 crimes against persons while under President Duterte’s administration, only 170,168 crimes against persons were recorded or 62.87% lower.

The number of crimes against properties also declined by as much as 65.55%, as data disclosed that during the previous administration, crime against property went as high as 655,345 compared under President Duterte’s administration when the PNP tallied only a total of 225,752 property-related cases.

INTERVENTIONS AND INNOVATIONS

Part of the effective anti-crime campaign, according to PGen Eleazar, is timely intervention based on the situation on the ground and innovations that would promote healthy cooperation between the police and the community.

With almost all Filipinos going online due to the COVID-19 pandemic particularly social media for instance, PGen Eleazar initiated web-based platforms that include E-Sumbong which uses even Facebook in reporting crime and seeking police assistance, and Project E-ACCESS through the PNP Ani-Cybercrime Group, which gives netizens access to information regarding cellular phone numbers, e-mails and social media accounts that are being used for illegal online activities.

THE ANTI-ILLEGAL DRUGS CAMPAIGN FACTOR

While there are other some factors that led to the significant decrease in crime in the past five years, PGen Eleazar stressed that the PNP’s relentless anti-illegal drug operations and their drive to put a stop to the illegal drug trade played a pivotal role in it.

“Maraming alegasyon, batikos o kritisismo ang ipinupukol sa Pangulong Duterte but if we are to look at the peace and order situation in the whole country which is our barometer, napakalaki ng ikinabuti at ikinaganda nito at mismong ang ating mga kababayan ay nararamdaman ang pagbabago,” said PGen Eleazar.

The PNP Chief said that government’s campaign against illegal drugs has also notched significant gains since it started in July 2016. PNP officials have always maintained that most of the crimes I the country are related to illegal drugs.

“Marami pa ang dapat gawin para tuluyang matuldukan ang paglaganap ng iligal na droga sa bansa pero sa ilalim ng administrasyong ito, marami tayong nahuling big time at small time drug suspects. Tons of illegal drugs have been seized since 2016. Further, a number of drug-affected barangays have been cleared since July, 2016. Out of 42,045 barangays, 22,093 have been cleared. Ngayon lang po nangyari”, PGen Eleazar said.

“Despite the great odds and seemingly overwhelming challenges, we will continue to deliver quality and professional services for the benefit of our main clientele—the Filipino people because as public officers, we owe it to them and our beloved country,” PGen Eleazar added. (PNP-PIO)