EDITORIAL - Most crime-prone area?

Cebu City Police Office Director Patrocinio Comendador did not hide his frustration over the branding of the city by the Police Regional Office-7 as the most crime-prone area in Central Visayas.

Speaking to reporters during last Friday’s press conference, Comendador lamented the tagging of the city as most crime-infested in the region is unfair as it can affect the image of the city.

It was during the recent Regional Peace and Order Council meeting that the regional police released a data showing that Cebu City, of all major areas of Central Visayas, has the highest crime volume, the reason why the PRO-7 branded the city as most crime prone.

Comendador, however, agued that branding the city as most crime prone in the region is misleading. The city police director said while Colon Street, for example, has been the city’s most crime-prone area, majority of its 80 barangays have been peaceful.

He has a point. Officials at the police regional headquarters should have been careful in describing the city’s peace and order situation. It would have been better if the PRO-7 would say the city has the highest crime volume than branding it as most crime-prone area in Central Visayas.           

There is a huge difference between being described as the most crime-prone area and having the highest crime volume. The former can only mean one thing: Cebu City is the most dangerous areas in the region. The latter is understandable given the city’s position as being highly urbanized and the center of economic activity in this part of the country.     

Colon may be the most dangerous street in Central Visayas. But that does not make the city the most crime prone in the region despite having the highest crime volume.

Nevertheless, Comendador and his men should not be demoralized by the tagging. They should instead take it as a challenge to be more vigorous in the campaign against criminality.

It’s undeniable that robberies and snatchings occur almost daily in the city. And preventing them will certainly improve the city’s standing in the PRO-7 peace and order record.