Nerez wants increase in police visibility

CEBU, Philippines – One month after he assumed as director of the Police Regional Office-7, Chief Supt. Lani-O Nerez laid down his top priorities for Central Visayas.

He disclosed that the crime incidents in the region decreased during the first quarter of this year compared to the same period last year.

Nevertheless, he said there is a need to increase police visibility in particular areas that need it and asked his men not to let their guards down. Police should also enhance crime incident monitoring, he added.

According to Nerez, the campaign against illegal drugs, with the coordination of local government units, should be more intensified. He also called on other police offices to create and not restrict the function of the members of their respective Barangay Intelligence Network, which will sooner be renamed to Police Auxiliary Force.

To lay down the figure, Nerez revealed that the crime volume for the first quarter of this year compared to the first quarter of last year for the whole Central Visayas was reduced to 7.26 percent or in figures, from 2,129 last year to 2,030 this year.

Sr. Supt. Melvin Buenafe, head of PRO-7 Regional Intelligence Division, also revealed that the crime solution efficiency rate for the whole Region 7 has increased as high profile or sensational cases were solved lately.

The police claimed that a lot of people have come out into the open that helped the police a lot in getting the necessary information in solving the cases.

Nerez said they will study and evaluate the police resources they will need, especially their human resources, to continue reducing the crime incidents. — Niña G. Sumacot/WAB (THE FREEMAN)