By Glazyl Y. Masculino
BACOLOD City – Crime incidents, including traffic accidents in Negros Occidental increased by 221 from 2,541 cases last year to 2,762 from January to August 2022.
Based on data from the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (Nocppo) here, 1,949 crime incidents, including special law violations were recorded while 813 traffic accidents were also reported this year.
For the eight focus crimes, theft accounted for the most number of incidents with 125, followed by murder with 94, rape, 91; robbery, 68; physical injury, 47; homicide, 26; carnapping of motorcycles, 14, and carnapping of vehicles, 1.
Police Stations in Kabankalan City and Calatrava town have the highest number of murder incidents with seven cases each.
However, murder cases decreased by 12 this year with only 94 cases compared to last year’s 106.
Police Lieutenant Judesses Catalogo, public information officer of Nocppo, said that murder cases usually occur in far-flung areas and are triggered by drunkenness. But these were isolated cases, he added.
Kabankalan City Police Station also has the highest number of robbery cases at 11 and rape cases at nine.
For theft cases, Talisay City Police Station topped 31 police stations in the province, with 26.
Police Stations in Cauayan and Hinigaran also recorded the highest number of homicide cases with four each.
Last year, Kabankalan City Police Station also topped the list with the highest of murder cases at 11, rape cases at 19, robbery cases at 7, and theft cases at 10.
Himamaylan City Police Station also reported the highest number of homicide cases in 2021 with three incidents.
Catalogo said the increase in crime incidents and traffic accidents this year could be because of the lesser restrictions implemented amid the pandemic.
Catalogo said that policemen have had total control over the movement of people in the past two years, compared to this year wherein people are free to move as businesses also re-opened.
“Puwede na kagwa sa balay so damo excited, and wala na border control,” Catalogo said.
Meanwhile, the provincial police office joined the simultaneous kick-off of the National Crime Prevention Week held nationwide yesterday.
Dubbed “Sa New Normal: Sambayanan magtulungan, krimen ay hadlangan tungo sa kapayapaan at kaunlaran,” it highlights the cooperation of the community to combat crimes while the society is recovering from the effects of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
The first week of September of every year is declared as National Crime Prevention Week (NCPW), pursuant to Presidential Proclamation No. 461 dated August 31, 1994.
