By Glazyl Y. Masculino
BACOLOD City – Effective anti-criminality campaign and police visibility contributed to the decrease in criminal incidents in Negros Occidental in 2023.
Based on the record from the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (Nocppo) here, the number of crimes was reduced by 129 incidents from 4,481 cases in 2022 to 4,352 incidents in 2023.
Index crimes or crimes against person or property, also decreased by 95 from 1,028 in 2022 to 933 last year.
Included in the index crimes are the eight focus crimes like murder, homicide, physical injuries, rape, carnapping, motornapping, robbery, and theft.
Murder topped the list with 276 cases, followed by homicide with 197; physical injuries, 194; theft, 142; rape, 74; robbery, 54; carnapping, 16; and motornapping, 1.
Among these crimes, homicide increased by 39 incidents, while seven cases recorded a decrease in cases, and motornapping recorded the same figure as last year.
For the non-index crimes, including special laws violations, the provincial police office reported an increase of 77 from 2,122 in 2022 to 2,199 in 2023.
Police Major Rhojn Darell Nigos, public information officer of Nocppo, said that continuous operations against illegal drugs, loose firearms, and other crimes also contributed to fewer incidents in the province.
He also stressed the cooperation of the public in the deterrence of crimes, as they report suspicious persons or activities in their respective areas, which resulted in immediate police response, and crime solution.
Meanwhile, public safety indicators, including vehicular accidents also reduced by 116 from 1,344 in 2022 to 1,228 in 2023.
