MM crime rate drops – NCRPO

MANILA, Philippines - The crime rate in Metro Manila decreased in August, an official said yesterday.

Statistics from the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) showed that 757 crimes were recorded from Aug. 11 to 17 and this decreased to 692 from Aug. 18 to 24 and 605 from Aug. 25 to 31.

Murder and homicide cases went down from 38 cases weekly during Aug. 11 to 17 to 32 cases from Aug. 25 to 31.

NCRPO chief Director Carmelo Valmoria said the drop in crimes was a “result of our reinvigorated anti-crime programs we started last June 16.”

The NCRPO increased the number of checkpoints, which are manned by three teams per shift for the 38 police stations in the metropolis, he said.

Police trainees have also been deployed on the streets.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) headquarters in Camp Crame, the NCRPO and the Regional Public Safety Battalion also deployed more uniformed personnel as part of an operation to increase police visibility.

The NCRPO has been grading the performance of its 38 police station commanders every week since June 16.

The city police chiefs of Caloocan and Pasay have been relieved for tampering with their crime rate records while the commanders of Manila Police District Stations 4 and 11 were sacked for being remiss in the war against crime.