By Glazyl Y. Masculino
BACOLOD City – The Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) recorded a significant decrease of 19.14 percent, or 76 incidents, in crime incidents from January to March 2021.
The first quarter crime volume was at 321 incidents compared to last year’s 397 cases for the same period.
Of the 321 incidents, 71 were index crimes while 250 were non-index crimes, based on the records from the BCPO.
The average monthly crime rate also showed a decrease from 21.63 last year to 17.49 in 2021.
According to the BCPO, the decrease in the number of crime incidents could be attributed to the initiated police operations, religious conduct of Enhanced Managing Police Operations, which addresses and applies appropriate and target-specific interventions conducted by the BCPO personnel.
Along with the anti-criminality measures of BCPO, the personnel has also delegated the task to strictly implement the minimum health protocols against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which greatly contributed to the peace and order and safety of the Bacolodnons.
However, for the first quarter of this year, the crime clearance efficiency (CCE) and crime solution efficiency (CSE) both dropped by 5.89 percent and 2.07 percent, respectively. CCE refers to cases that were filed but suspects were at large, while CSE means that cases were filed and suspects were identified and arrested.
Meanwhile, the BCPO also reported that the city police force had seized P1,935,171.20 worth of shabu in 48 police operations conducted from March 1 to 31, 2021. Last month, 67 personalities were arrested and a total of 284.584 grams of illegal drugs were seized.
Four of the arrested drug personalities were High-Value Individuals (HVI), 62 were Street Level Individuals (SLI), and one is a newly identified drug personality. A total of 101 drug cases were already filed in court.
In the campaign against wanted persons, BCPO conducted a total of 58 operations, which resulted in the arrest of 10 most wanted persons and 48 other wanted persons charged with various offenses.
In the campaign against loose firearms, BCPO also confiscated four loose firearms from four persons in its heightened operations.
In the campaign against all forms of illegal gambling, BCPO made a total of 26 operations and arrested 75 persons. All suspects have already been charged in court.
With this development, Police Colonel Manuel Placido, BCPO director, commended the operating units and its personnel for a job well done in their relentless effort to stop all forms of criminality.
He also reminded the personnel to be always motivated to do their job for the betterment of the city, especially in this time of pandemic.
