Snatchings, holdups expected to rise

CEBU - With barely three months to go before Christmas, police officials warn the public to be vigilant against snatchings and holdups as index crimes would generally rise as the Christmas season approaches.

Police Regional Office-7 director Chief Supt. Ronald Roderos admitted in a recent police forum that based on past experience, index crimes particularly crimes against property would usually increases during the fourth quarter of the year.

“Snatchers and robbers tend to go high on snatching and theft as they need money to spend for Christmas too and place food on the table for their noche buena,” according to Roderos.

Index crimes are categorized into two—crimes against persons like murder, homicide, physical injury and rape, and crimes against property like robbery and theft.

For the first six months of this year, however, the Philippine National Police reported a 2.63 percent reduction in overall index crimes and a 7.29 percent rise in non-index crimes.

Non-index crimes need the enforcement of special laws particularly on illegal gambling, illegal logging, illegal fishing, intellectual property rights violations, crimes against public morals and other less serious criminal offenses.

Roderos warns the public to be always on guard and not be an easy prey to snatchers and robbers.

Some police tips on preventing street crimes include not wearing jewelry and cell phones in public places and in jeepneys and bring only enough money when shopping or buying in the supermarkets.

Cebu City Police Office director S. Supt. Patrocinio Commendador echoed the same observation and bared that from the month of August down to December, snatching, theft and robbery tend to go up but this usually goes down towards the end of December, which is a general trend.

Commendador said they have not let up their beat patrol system even increasing police visibility with the Christmas season only several weeks away.

“What we are doing is for the policemen to patrol a certain corner and move to the next and the next but we cannot cover all the 2,600 street corners of Cebu City,” Commendador stressed.

A number of big malls are located in Cebu City but the ratio per policeman to population here is 1:970, quite far from the ideal ratio of 1:500 people.

Commendador urged the public to be vigilant against snatchers and robbers as the police personnel are doing their best to ensure the public safety and maintain peace and order within a favorable level. — Niña Chrismae G. Sumacot with reports from PIA-7/WAB (THE FREEMAN)