PNP: Reported crimes in 2013 breach 1-M mark

MANILA, Philippines - The number of crimes reported in the country last year reached 1,036,527, a Philippine National Police (PNP) official said yesterday.

According to a report by the PNP’s Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management (DIDM), the number of crimes staged by motorcycle-riding perpetrators was 3,654 or nine percent of total reported crimes, said Chief Superintendent Ricardo Marquez, acting director of the PNP’s Directorate for Operations (DO) during a media briefing on the PNP’s crime prevention operational thrust.

He said of the total number of reported crimes, about 40 percent are street crimes and 34 percent are drug-related cases.

The report has prompted the PNP to order police station commanders to conduct a weekly assessment of reported street crimes in their respective areas of responsibility to plan strategies to improve the peace and order situation in the country, Marquez said.

He added that the assessment would also be used to gauge the performance of the police commanders.

Marquez said the DIDM has identified the crime-prone areas, which will be used as a basis by the DO and the police commanders to focus their operations.

 â€œThe commanders on the ground should use the DIDM records in police deployment, particularly the place and time of the crime. This will be the focus of police deployment and intelligence operations,” Marquez said.